The drought of 1988 ranked as the worst drought since the
Dust Bowl, which had occurred more than 50 years earlier. Damages in the United States (as of 2008, adjusted for
inflation) were calculated at between $80 billion and almost $120 billion. The state of
Minnesota alone saw $1.2 billion in
crop losses. The drought caused devastation comparable to that of
Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and
Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In Canada, drought-related losses totaled $1.8 billion (in 1988
Canadian dollars). Following a milder drought in the
southeastern United States and California the previous year, the 1988–1989 drought affected the
Mid-Atlantic states, the
southeastern United States, the
midwestern United States, the northern
Great Plains, and the
western United States. Heatwaves that accompanied the drought are estimated to have killed over 5,000 Americans as well as livestock across the United States. The drought destroyed crops almost nationwide, lawns went brown, and many cities declared water restrictions. More than four inches (100 mm) of helpful rain was brought to parts of the Midwest in September 1988 by
Hurricane Gilbert, which crossed Texas and Oklahoma as a tropical depression, weakening as it moved further north into Missouri, and spreading rain as far as the Great Lakes. In some areas Hurricane Gilbert overcame the drought outright, but other locations were at −6 or lower on the
Palmer Drought Severity Index by early autumn 1988 and a general change in the pattern which had maintained for the preceding nine-plus months was required to ease the hydrological impacts of the drought. The agricultural damage was essentially done by this point, resulting in record prices for commodities.
Wildfires in
Yellowstone National Park burned and altered the landscape significantly. The catastrophic drought continued across the
Upper Midwest and northern Great Plains states during 1989, not officially ending until 1990. Dry conditions continued during 1989, affecting Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, parts of Nebraska, Minnesota, Kansas and large portions of Colorado. The drought also affected some parts of
Canada. Beginning in the spring, a persistent wind pattern brought hot dry air into the middle of the continent from the desert southwest, whereas in most years advection of warm and humid air from the Gulf of Mexico is the rule; therefore, despite the extremely high temperatures, elevation of apparent temperature was not as severe as would be the case during the
1995 heat wave. ==See also==