North American Drought of 1988 ranks among the worst episodes of drought in the United States . This multi-year drought began in most areas in 1988 and continued into 1989 and 1990 ( in certain areas ) . The drought caused $ 60 billion in damage ( $ billion in United States dollars , adjusting for inflation ) . The drought occasioned some of the worst blowing-dust events since 1977 or the 1930s in many locations in the Midwestern United States , including a protracted dust storm , which closed schools in South Dakota in late February 1988 . During the spring , several weather stations set records for lowest monthly total precipitation and longest interval between measurable precipitation , for example , 55 days in a row without precipitation in Milwaukee . During the summer , two record-setting heat waves developed , similar to those of 1934 and 1936 . The concurrent heat waves killed 4,800 to 17,000 people in the United States . During the summer of 1988 , the drought led to many wildfires in forested western North America , including the Yellowstone fires of 1988 . At its peak , the drought covered 45 % of the United States . While covering less area than the Dust Bowl , which covered 70 % of the United States , the drought of 1988 ranks as not only the costliest drought in United States history but also one of the costliest natural disasters in United States history . In Canada , drought-related losses added to $ 1.8 billion ( 1988 Canadian dollars )
Yellowstone fires of 1988
Yellowstone fires of 1988
1988–89 North American drought