Dry Climate Moves East

In the past I have written about problems that are exacerbated by climate change, such as wildfires, storms, hurricanes, and extreme winter weather. Droughts are another such problem, and now it seems that the problem is moving east.[1]

The explorer and geologist John Wesley Powell observed in 1879 that the climate of the United States changes at about the 100^th meridian. This is a north-south line approximately from Bottineau, North Dakota to Laredo, Texas. The climate becomes significantly drier west of that line, which includes the Oklahoma panhandle and the western portions of Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota. This is because moisture from the Pacific Ocean is siphoned off by the Rocky Mountains, while moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean seldom makes it that far west.

But the line is moving.

Because of climate change, that line is moving eastward, toward population centers like Dallas-Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Austin, San Antonio, and Wichita, Kansas. As of 2018, statistical data suggested the line had already moved about 140 miles east, closer to the 98^th meridian, which passes just west of Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, and Austin, and east of San Antonio. By 2100, the line will probably have passed east of all of those cities.

A drier climate will mean less water for people living in the affected areas, including farmers and ranchers. That will make farming and ranching more challenging and more expensive, resulting in higher prices for food. A drier climate also sucks the moisture out of plants, making wildfires more frequent and more severe in those areas, with devastating results. And the higher temperatures caused by global warming will aggravate the problem further.

That’s not an encouraging prognostication, especially for people living west of that 98^th meridian, but that’s what science is telling us will happen if we can’t reverse climate change soon.  

To learn more about what climate change is, how it is impacting our world, and how it might be fulfilling biblical prophecy, read Chapter 11 of my book, Beyond Blind Faith, entitled “Apocalypse Soon.” You can read it in its entirety for free on this website. Just click here, or go to “Don’s Books” at the top of this page and scroll down to the “List of Contents” under my book, Beyond Blind Faith.

[1]. This blog entry is based in part on the following articles:

“Climate Draws New Line for State,” by Philip Jankowski, in the Dallas Morning News, April 27, 2025, pages 1A and 15A

“The 100^th Miridian, Where the Great Plains Begin, May Be Shifting,” by Kevin Krajick, April 11, 2018, found at: https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2018/04/11/the-100th-meridian-where-the-great-plains-used-to-begin-now-moving-east/