The North American Sukhovey

Abstract

Abstract. Brief spells of desiccation known by the Russian term, “sukhovey,” occur throughout much of the United States. Although they occur most frequently in the southern intermontane region of Arizona and surrounding states, their effects on crops are most pronounced in unirrigated agricultural regions of the Great Plains, Middle West, and Southeast. Their spotty occurrence in space and time seems to be related to adiabatic heating caused by strong subsidence ahead of slowly moving cold fronts, sometimes enhanced by thunderstorm wakes. The summer of 1980 produced the hottest, driest weather in eastern Kansas, much of Missouri, northern Arkansas, and portions of adjoining states since the great drought years of the 1930s.