Normally Texas is full of huge green pastures, full of sheep and cows grazing the grass. This hasn't been the case as grass starts to turn yellow and black. The cattle have been sent to slaughters rather than starving to death in the barren fields. Texas has received just 7.33 inches of rain for a whole year. This is the lowest for the state in 40 years. On top of that the state has had the hottest summer in U.S. history with an average temperature of 86.8 degrees Fahrenheit beating the record set by Oklahoma in 1934 which had an average of 85.2 degrees.
With no rain wildfires broke out killing two people and destroying 1,500 homes in less than one week. Wildfires this entire year have burnt a record 3.7 million acres about the size of Connecticut. "It's just burnt up," says Jim Hughes,68, a local cattle rancher who has lost 7,000 acres of his property to wildfires and sold off most of his herd. "It's the worst I've ever seen it."
All of this has cost the sate a total of $5.2 billion in livestock and crop losses, that number is still growing. Statewide water restrictions have caused waitresses in restaurants to stop giving out water unless specifically asked. People pray at their dinner tables and at the churches for rain. Still, no rain.
"Everything about this is historic and comparable to the Dust Bowl years," says Robert Dull, an assistant professor of geography and the environment at the University of Texas at Austin.
With no rain wildfires broke out killing two people and destroying 1,500 homes in less than one week. Wildfires this entire year have burnt a record 3.7 million acres about the size of Connecticut. "It's just burnt up," says Jim Hughes,68, a local cattle rancher who has lost 7,000 acres of his property to wildfires and sold off most of his herd. "It's the worst I've ever seen it."
All of this has cost the sate a total of $5.2 billion in livestock and crop losses, that number is still growing. Statewide water restrictions have caused waitresses in restaurants to stop giving out water unless specifically asked. People pray at their dinner tables and at the churches for rain. Still, no rain.
"Everything about this is historic and comparable to the Dust Bowl years," says Robert Dull, an assistant professor of geography and the environment at the University of Texas at Austin.
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