Infrastructure

These 6 American States Have Plenty of Water

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: October 18, 2020 7:11 am

Last Updated: October 19, 2020 10:04 am

Drought is defined as a period of dryness, especially when prolonged. Drought has plagued some portions of America, particularly states on the west coast and in the southwest for years, and in some cases decades. It has been listed as a major cause of the wildfires in Oregon and California. Crippling drought, which affects water availability and farming, runs through areas of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. However, several states do not have a single area of drought at all.

Drought levels are broken into five levels and measured by the National Drought Mitigation Center. Abnormally dry weather, known as D0, is when short-term dryness and some brief water deficits exist. D1 drought, known as moderate drought, causes some damage to crops and water use may be curtailed. D2 drought, known as severe drought, means crop losses and water deficits. D3, known as extreme drought, means major crop losses and widespread water shortages. D4, known as exceptional drought, means devastating crop damage and water shortages in reservoirs and rivers.

Six states do not have any areas that are listed as D0, D1, D2, D3 or D4. In the Northeast, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center, Delaware and New Jersey are drought-free. In the South, they include Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. In the center of the country, Tennessee qualifies.

Unfortunately, all the states on the drought-free list are plagued by events that cause flooding. States along the eastern seaboard, running from Florida to New York, have been hit by hurricanes and especially large ones over the past decade. Among the most notable of these is Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, which destroyed huge coastal areas up to and including New England. Hurricanes have become more frequent and violent, and the frequency with which these storms hit the country reached a record this year.

Tennessee was hit by so-called 100-year floods in 2010. As recently as this year, Nashville and the areas around it were flooded so badly that parts of the city were underwater. The history of major floods in Tennessee goes back to 1847.

During a period in which drought is in the headlines every day, some states have been unaffected. But they do have weather trouble, which almost always included too much water.