Autumn now asks what a drought is

_Elsa_

Autumn is so excited to be learning this. Sophia explains to Rancid and Rachel that Autumn has to be a gifted child because she is so eager to learn but she won’t know for sure until she begins school. The why questions continue ……..

‘What is a drought?

Drought is a continuous period of dry weather when an area gets less than its normal amount of rain. Droughts can last months or even years. Because crops and other plants need water to grow and land animals need water to live, droughts can be dangerous. 

Droughts occur mainly in areas where the normal levels of rainfall are already low. If it rains a little less than normal over time, a drought will happen. Wind can also be one of the factors in a drought when there is already a lack of rain. If a dry wind blows (like a wind from over the land) rather than a more humid wind (like a wind from over the ocean), it can dry the land faster.’ (Source) 

 Why doesn't a drought go away when it rains?

Rainfall in any form will provide some drought relief. A good analogy might be how medicine and illness relate to each other. A single dose of medicine can alleviate symptoms of illness, but it usually takes a sustained program of medication to cure an illness. Likewise, a single rainstorm will not break the drought, but it may provide temporary relief. 

A light to moderate shower will probably only provide cosmetic relief. It might make folks feel better for a while, provide cooling, and make the vegetation perk up. During the growing season, most of the rain that falls will be quickly evaporated or used by plants. Its impact is short term. 

A thunderstorm will provide some of the same benefits as the shower, but it also may cause loss of life and property if it is severe. Thunderstorms often produce large amounts of precipitation in a very short time, and most of the rain will run off into drainage channels and streams rather than soak into the ground. If the rain happens to fall upstream of a reservoir, much of the runoff will be captured by the reservoir and add to the available water supply. No matter where the rain falls, stream levels will rise quickly and flooding may result. Also, because the rainfall and runoff can be intense, the resulting runoff can carry significant loads of sediment and pollutants that are washed from the land surface.’ (Source) 

“It would need a lot of water, maybe flooding to get rid of a drought,” says Rancid. 

Let’s continue - And the questions continue …..

Start at the beginning – Rachel and Rancid answer some why Questions about natural disasters

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Start at the beginning of the main story – Why … But WHY?

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