Droughts & Dust Storms
Facts About Weather
by A-Man the Meteorologes
(Scroll Down for Weather)
Droughts and Dust Storms!
Droughts and dust storms are related. First, let's learn a little about droughts, drought is when no rain causes plants, and crops to die and topsoil to dry up and blow away. Because food and water are not available the farmers lose their crops and animals have no water or food. Droughts can last years and sometimes decades Now let's talk about dust storms.
Dust storms are storms that are made of soil and dust blowing across the open plains. The wind blows around millions of tons of soil and a dust storm forms. The storms were so severe people couldn't go outdoors because of the dust getting into their throat, lungs, and eyes and it made it very difficult to breathe and see. It can even be fatal.
Dust storms started in the early 1930s because of over-farming and drought in the Plains states. The farmers plowed up the natural growth of the land which exposed it to the wind creating dust storms.
When FDR was elected he made it a national priority to fix the problem. Mobilizing huge numbers of workers they planted millions of trees to shield the farms from the wind. This was a massive undertaking and very costly. However, this was one of the government's most successful programs and was a national success.