Page 7 - Drought Condition News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Up to my waist. the last rain that the farmer here said he had last decent rain, was three months ago, april 14th. the government, the agriculture department says the corn crop nationwide is in its worse shape since 1988, the devastating drought that year. and the government also says 56% of the lower 48 states are in drought condition. it is a difficult, tough, tough year for farmers, already prices for corn on the futures market has shot up 35% in the last three weeks alone. it's a price that we'll all be paying long after the heat's gone. >> yeah, corn at the very heart of our agriculture i...

Alive. >> it means that i have had to sell part of our capital assets to stay in business. and i don't like to do that. but it's either that or watch the animals die. it hurts everybody in this area with less beef. beef prices are going to be higher. >> it turns out this is the driest oklahoma has been since the state began keeping records in 1921. and the government says now 58% of the country is in a drought condition. that's the most in 12 years. >> jamie: well, eric we've been telling everybody about the severe heat. it's left a lot of people in assistance of many kind. we'll spoke to some...

Reports 56% of the continental united states is in drought condition. the widest area in its 12-year history. most of that due to the scorching heat wave hitting much of the country. people desperate for relief heading into the weekend. let's see if we get some. fox meteorologist rick reichmuth out here. >> not just yet. we have got to get through the weekend and then we have some relief going. still some brutal conditions out there. right now it feels like 108 in chicago. 6:30 at night there so hot. see the lighter colors of yellow and green. that's where you have some of these thunderstorms....

Truck struck the for rest and jumped containment lines. firefighters in both states, obviously, hoping for a break. cooler temperatures in the forecast would help. meteorologist maria mow lina is in the weather. >> and places across the southwest area we've been seeing, basically, severe to extreme drought across parts of arizona and the same for the state of new mexico and colorado and utah and it means it's dry out here. you've got a lot of dry brush in place, when the wildfire started it helps to fuel them and coupled with warm temperatures in place and strong winds in excess of 40 miles pe...

these beaches had been closed for people to get into the water, and we talked to a life guard just the other day about the strong rip currents that they are concerned about. take a listen. so i see the white caps out there. is that safe for a person to get into the water? >> no. it is not. the thing is with closing water completely, you let somebody knee deep they want to get waist deep. you let them waist deep they want to go in. >> reporter: what is a rip current? >> it's a channel of water pulls out to sea, too much water close to the shore, rip current will pull you out to sea, i...