Another form of severe weather is drought , which is a prolonged period of persistently dry weather ( that is , absence of precipitation ) . Although droughts do not develop or progress as quickly as other forms of severe weather , their effects can be just as deadly ; in fact , droughts are classified and measured based upon these effects . Droughts have a variety of severe effects ; they can cause crops to fail , and they can severely deplete water resources , sometimes interfering with human life . A drought in the 1930s known as the Dust Bowl affected 50 million acres of farmland in the central United States . In economic terms , they can cost many billions of dollars : a drought in the United States in 1988 caused over $ 40 billion in losses , exceeding the economic totals of Hurricane Andrew , the Great Flood of 1993 , and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake . In addition to the other severe effects , the dry conditions caused by droughts also significantly increase the risk of wildfires
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Severe weather