California’s and the Southwest’s drought is extreme. Some farmers are already leaving the state. Two weather phenomena have been discovered that suggest possible futures that are extreme on either side of the recent norm. Atmospheric rivers have dumped hundreds of inches of rain in mutli-week storms. The other extreme is the realization that mega-droughts have happened and may be about to happen as well. There are records of hundred year droughts. This is not an either/or situation. It is possible to have both, which is yet another type of disaster as flashfloods, landslides, wildfires, and desertification scour the region. We are only now learning how our planet acts, even as we change it enough to elicit new reactions. The same effects may reach the Central Plains. A stable temperate norm is becoming less likely.
“Southwest, Central Plains Face Unprecedented Drought” – Climate Central
Pretending Not To Panic 