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N0KFQ > TODAY 11.11.15 17:34l 43 Lines 1717 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 73935_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Nov 11
Path: IW8PGT<IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<JH4XSY<JE7YGF<N9PMO<N3XPD<N0KFQ
Sent: 151111/1531Z 73935@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.65
1933
Massive dust storm sweeps South Dakota
A powerful wind strips the topsoil from desiccated farmlands in
South Dakota, one of a series of disastrous windstorms that year.
The drought-ridden land of the Southern Plains became known as
the Dust Bowl; it was useless to farmers, and only exacerbated
the economic problems of the Great Depression. Within two days,
dust from the South Dakota storm had reached all the way to
Albany, New York.
Dust storms plagued the West throughout the 1930s and eventually
the devastated area covered nearly 100 million acres. Rising like
ominous black clouds on the horizon, the dust storms destroyed
crops, choked livestock to death, and damaged human health.
During 1938, the worst year of the dust storms, it is estimated
that 850 million tons of topsoil disappeared with the winds. The
size and scope of the problem have led some historians to call
the Dust Bowl the worst environmental disaster in American
history.
The cause of the Dust Bowl is still unclear. Widespread
drought-which killed crops and turned the topsoil into a light
powder-was undoubtedly a factor. However, some have argued that
the farmers played their part by replacing native grasses with
wheat and less hardy crops.
Whatever the causes, the Roosevelt administration responded to
the Dust Bowl with a billion- dollar program to aid and educate
farmers in soil conservation techniques that have become standard
practice. After the rains returned in 1941, the region bloomed
once again. Severe droughts have occurred since, but none have
been as devastating as the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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