"Drought" by The Responsible House

What is Drought?
What's a drought? Most of us think of it as “no rainfall", but it's not that simple. Drought is when you have less rainfall than you expected over an extended period of time, usually several months or longer. Drought is a normal part of climate, and it can occur almost anywhere on earth. For example, Arizona and Maine have very different climates, but drought occurs in both states. Drought's features and effects vary from place to place because of different geographical features and cultures, which affect how people use water.
A shortage of rainfall can result in major impacts on agriculture, city water supplies, tourism and recreation, energy (power) production, river navigation, and the environment.
If you are a farmer, drought means that you do not have enough water in the soil for crops to grow normally or for pastures to produce enough grass for livestock. For farmers who rely on irrigation to produce their crops, drought may be a shortage of water in reservoirs, streams, or groundwater, and irrigation may be restricted. If you live in a city, drought may result in a shortage of water for watering grass, trees, and other plants. Often during drought, people in cities are asked to conserve water used inside the home and outside. Has your town or city experienced drought recently and have residents been asked to conserve water?

What Causes Drought?
Drought has many causes. It could be a lack of rainfall; it could be a lack of snowfall from mountains far away; or it could be caused when water supplies aren't sufficient to meet everybody's needs.
To understand why we don't always get the rainfall or snowfall we need or expect, we first need to understand weather and climate. Winds cause weather patterns to move around the globe, including the clouds that bring rain. Over the years, these patterns become routine, creating what we know as our climate. But sometimes these patterns change, and we get less (or more) rainfall than we are expecting.

Can We Predict When Drought Will Occur?
Predicting drought depends on our ability to forecast precipitation and temperature. Scientists don't know how to predict drought a month or more in advance for most parts of the world.

How Droughts Affect Us
When people hear the words natural disasters,they usually think of hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, floods, tornadoes - events that are sudden and frightening, that can cause a great deal of devastation, and that make a lasting impression on us. Drought usually isn't the first disaster that comes to mind! That's because drought, unlike a tornado or an earthquake, for example, usually doesn't have a sudden beginning or end. We can see a tornado and feel an earthquake, but we can't see drought. It happens when we don't get as much water as we expect or need over a significant period of time, and it happens so slowly that we only see its effects.
When drought occurs, it can have many far-reaching impacts. That's because water is an important part of so many of our activities. We need water for everything from human, wildlife, and plant health; to washing dishes, river rafting, and fishing; to growing food, cooling engines, and producing electricity. When we don't have enough water for these activities, there will most often be a negative impact.