The impact of the drought currently gripping the United States is real and tangible , as millions can attest . But the depth of the pain still falls short of that experienced by many in the Great Plains and beyond during the so-called Dust Bowl era of the 1930s . Here is a look -- by the numbers -- comparing what happened then and what 's happening now , both times due to pervasive and historic droughts . The Dust Bowl days . 8 : The years of the general duration of the so-called Dust Bowl era , from 1931 to 1939 . 3.5 million : People who left their homes in the Great Plains and beyond due to drought . 250,000 : Families who lost their farms and ranches to bank foreclosures . 60 mph : Speed of winds pushing a huge dust cloud on April 13 , 1935 , through Colorado , Texas , Oklahoma , Kansas and beyond -- causing hundreds of deaths -- during what is called `` Black Sunday '' 5 : The string of years in the 1930s of the warmest temperatures ever recorded until recently in Amarillo , Texas . 74 : The degrees of temperature drop in an 18-hour span in Boise City , Oklahoma , in February 1933 , as Dust Bowl winters were often bitterly cold . 20 million : Hectares of range and farmland ruined annually during the Dust Bowl era . 13 : The number of camps , consisting of about 300 families each , set up by the Farm Security Administration for Dust Bowl migrants escaping the hardest hit areas . The current drought . 40 : Number of the 50 states with drought-designated counties as determined by the federal government , making them eligible for emergency aid . 63 % : Amount of the contiguous U.S. experiencing moderate to exceptional drought conditions . 33 % : Amount of the contiguous U.S. in such straits last year , indicating 30 % more of the country now faces such conditions . # 1 : The historic rank for July 2012 , nationally , in temperature , making it the hottest July since records were first kept in 1895 . 123.4 : The bushels of corn per acre predicted by the USDA , the lowest yield since 1995 . 4 billion : The number of fewer bushels of U.S. corn likely to be produced , compared to what was forecast at the beginning of the year . 80 % : The amount of U.S. agricultural land being affected by the current drought . 65 % : The level of U.S. cattle production being affected by the current drought . Sources : Library of Congress , U.S. Department of Agriculture , National Climatic Data Center , U.S. Drought Monitor .
The Dust Bowl lasted for 8 years , causing 5 to leave their homes . 4 billion fewer bushels of farmland were ineffective 8 years . The current drought is affecting all but a handful of American states . 4 billion fewer bushels of corn will be produced annually than once expected .