Old Belief That Rain Followed the Plow
By James Donahue
The people who dared to settle the arid Midwestern plains brought a lot of optimism when they moved west to claim the open lands. Rather than pasture cattle on the vast grasslands, they put the land to the plow and planted crops, believing that faith alone would bring the rain.
Strangely it worked at first. Those early years produced bountiful crops because it did rain, even though the area was known for its long dry periods. And thus was born the theory that plowing the soil and planting crops caused nature to bring rain.
It soon became a thinking among scientists that broken soil absorbed more water. They thought that there was thus a chain reaction; that the water in the open ground evaporated and caused more rain. Strangely the idea gained a following among Midwest farmers and weather researchers in the late 1800’s. Even the railroads, which by then owned large tracts of land, promoted the idea in their campaign to bring even more settlers to the territory.
It looked for a while like the gods were smiling down on those early settlers.
But weather is fickle, as we all know. It turned out that those settlers were treated to some odd weather those first years. Indeed it did rain on their farmlands and produced fine crops. But as the years passed the climate returned to its aridity. Contemporary weather experts note that the predominate westerly winds over North America cause the rain clouds from the Pacific Ocean to dump their loads as they pass over the Rocky Mountains. Thus when they blow over the Midwest, they offer little or no rainfall.
It is only when the weather fronts from the west meet fronts from the south, carrying water from the Gulf of Mexico, that folks in the Midwest enjoy ample rainfall. Every spring those two fronts collide to cause the phenomenon known as Tornado Alley. But there is very little rain.
It is true that climate studies are showing that increased vegetation and urbanization appears to have an effect on rainfall. But the little development of crop farming in those early years was not enough to change anything.
John Steinbeck’s classic book Grapes of Wrath depicts the terrible drama that occurred among those farmers after the rains stopped and the area became a dust bowl.
By James Donahue
The people who dared to settle the arid Midwestern plains brought a lot of optimism when they moved west to claim the open lands. Rather than pasture cattle on the vast grasslands, they put the land to the plow and planted crops, believing that faith alone would bring the rain.
Strangely it worked at first. Those early years produced bountiful crops because it did rain, even though the area was known for its long dry periods. And thus was born the theory that plowing the soil and planting crops caused nature to bring rain.
It soon became a thinking among scientists that broken soil absorbed more water. They thought that there was thus a chain reaction; that the water in the open ground evaporated and caused more rain. Strangely the idea gained a following among Midwest farmers and weather researchers in the late 1800’s. Even the railroads, which by then owned large tracts of land, promoted the idea in their campaign to bring even more settlers to the territory.
It looked for a while like the gods were smiling down on those early settlers.
But weather is fickle, as we all know. It turned out that those settlers were treated to some odd weather those first years. Indeed it did rain on their farmlands and produced fine crops. But as the years passed the climate returned to its aridity. Contemporary weather experts note that the predominate westerly winds over North America cause the rain clouds from the Pacific Ocean to dump their loads as they pass over the Rocky Mountains. Thus when they blow over the Midwest, they offer little or no rainfall.
It is only when the weather fronts from the west meet fronts from the south, carrying water from the Gulf of Mexico, that folks in the Midwest enjoy ample rainfall. Every spring those two fronts collide to cause the phenomenon known as Tornado Alley. But there is very little rain.
It is true that climate studies are showing that increased vegetation and urbanization appears to have an effect on rainfall. But the little development of crop farming in those early years was not enough to change anything.
John Steinbeck’s classic book Grapes of Wrath depicts the terrible drama that occurred among those farmers after the rains stopped and the area became a dust bowl.