Sandy Swamps Eastern U.S. But Drought Persists Almost Everywhere Else

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/11/04/1135471/hell-and-high-water-sandy-swamps-eastern-us-but-drought-persists-almost-everywhere-else/

Hell And High Water: Sandy Swamps Eastern U.S. But Drought Persists Almost Everywhere Else
By Joe Romm on Nov 4, 2012

The mark of man-made climate change is weather extremes. And that’s what we’re seeing in America this week.

On the one hand, we had Frankenstorm Sandy inundating the East, with 12.55 inches of rain in Easton, Maryland, 11.91 inches in Wildwood, NJ — and a “crippling amount of heavy, wet snow”:

34.0 in. – Gatlinburg, Tenn.
33.0 in. – Clayton, W. Va.
29.0 in. – Redhouse, Md.
24.0 in. – Norton, Va.

On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of the rest of the country is in drought, especially the Great Plains. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports the drought is still slamming farmers and ranchers:

Hay in drought dipped to 62 percent, down two percentage points from a week ago and down seven points from the Sept. 25 peak.
Cattle in drought also fell two percentage points to 69 percent, and is down seven points from Sept. 25.
Winter wheat in drought decreased for the sixth consecutive week, although drought still covers nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of the production area.

This is what climate change looks like.