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Article: Weathering the summer of 1993. (climatic effects of the jet stream) (Cover Story)
- Article from:
- Science World
- Article date:
- October 22, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 Scholastic, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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From floods, to drought, cold snap to heat wave, the jet stream blew it all our way last summer. Here's how.
When storms drenched the Midwest for six weeks nonstop last summer, no one was singing in the rain. The overflowing Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, and their veinlike tributaties, submerged areas of nine states. The muddy waters caused $12 billion in damages. Fifty people died; 70,000 were left homeless.
Meanwhile, in the South, a searing drought shriveled corn and soybean crops. "We set up fans in the henhouses and portable shades in the barn to keep the animals from dying of heat," laments 17-year-old Derrick Myers, who works on his ...