Instagram user Chris Bodelle captured this photo of the drought in Oklahoma on Aug. 2, 2012.
More than half of the counties in the U.S. have now been labeled "natural disaster areas" by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as of Wednesday.
The USDA added 218 more counties in 12 states to the list, due to "damage and losses caused by drought and excessive heat," a USDA report reads.
"The core of the heat has been settling southward over the Plains in recent days," Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
"While conditions may improve slightly in the coming weeks over the central Plains, they could get worse for a time in the southern Plains and interior Texas, as far as grazing lands are concerned."
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Pledging a commitment to helping America's farmers and ranchers, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced two new pieces of disaster assistance for the farmers and ranchers affected.
Vilsack, partnered with President Obama, has expanded emergency haying and grazing on approximately 3.8 million acres of conservation land to bring relief to livestock producers that are experiencing hay and pastureland shortages.
Additionally, he announced that crop insurance companies will now provide a 30-day grace period for farmers on insurance premiums in 2012, preventing incurring interest due to unpaid premiums.
"President Obama and I will continue to take swift action to get help to America's farmers and ranchers through this difficult time," said Vilsack.
The assistance seeks to support U.S. livestock producers "dealing with climbing feed prices, critical shortages of hay and deteriorating pasturelands."
A full list of the counties now designated as disaster areas can be found here.
Severe thunderstorms with the risk of a few tornadoes will advance eastward across the northern Plains and Upper Midwest into Friday.
A dangerous outbreak of severe storms will strike the northern High Plains and Canadian Prairies on Wednesday.
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Evacuations and closed roads as wildfires continue to burn across the United States.
Join us on Thursday for AccuWeather LIVE as we will discuss the debate of climate change and hurricane frequency and the top five things you need to know about summer weather.
A hot and humid weekend is shaping up for Chicagoland just in time for the official start of summer, while severe thunderstorms fire nearby to the north.
Tropical Storm Barry formed over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico and may hit the Mexico state of Veracruz Thursday.
| Extreme | Location | |
|---|---|---|
| High | N/A | |
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Philadelphia, PA (1990)
Hail up to the size of marbles fell with wind
gusts to 50 mph in the northeast part of the
city.
Southeast China (1932)
Hailstorm in Hunan Province killed 20 people
and injured thousands of others.
New Brunswick, NJ (1835)
Great New Brunswick Tornado; 5 dead, 17-mile
path through the center of town; in all, 145
buildings were damaged. This is the worst tornado
catastrophe in New Jersey history to date.
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