The Midwest’s recent extreme weather will almost certainly exacerbate the problem, said David Scheurer, a NOAA oceanographer who worked on the agency’s dead zone forecast. The National Weather Service reported this week that the Mississippi River is in the midst of its longest cycle of flooding since 1927. Those nutrients, Scheurer said, “provide the foundation for [and] the fuel for the dead zone itself.”NOAA’s model forecasts this summer’s dead zone to cover 7,829 square miles; Rabalais’ prediction puts the size at 8,717 square miles. But Rabalais, who conducts an annual cruise into the affected area, said the summertime dead zone can turn the Gulf into a wasteland. Read moreExtreme weather is pummeling the Midwest, and farmers are in deep troubleRuined crops, salty soil: How rising seas are poisoning North Carolina’s farmlandThe Gulf of Mexico dead zone is larger than ever.

Source: Washington Post June 10, 2019 21:10 UTC