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The unusual drought conditions are the result of a weather pattern known as the death ridge, said Prescott Bishop, an atmospheric science graduate student from San Antonio, Texas. “It stretches from the Rocky Mountains to the East Coast,” Bishop said. “It’s even larger than last summer’s.”

Bishop said the death ridge is a warm, high pressure weather system that has covered the Great Plains since April.
“High pressure makes the weather warmer and drier, which makes the high pressure stronger, causing even more warmth and dryness,” said Garrett Black, an atmospheric science senior from Hutchinson.

So far, no other weather pattern has broken the death ridge, which is unusual, Black said. Black did have hope that weather systems moving into the region this week could begin to curb the drought conditions.

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