See 5 of the worst droughts in the United States

Residents of the Great Plains and the southwestern United States were hit with a drought that ran from 1950 to 1956. In Texas, LiveScience reports, rainfall decreased by 40 percent between 1949 and 1951. The drought caused Texas to kick off the modern era of water planning in the state. The Statesman reports that after the 1950s drought, Texas policymakers developed drought contingency plans, expanded water storage and sought new sources of groundwater, while state and federal departments of agriculture put in safeguard programs to help farmers deal with severe droughts.