After spreading destruction across the Gulf Coast, the one-time hurricane Isaac Saturday delivered much-hoped-for rain to the parched Mid-West, dpa reported.
It has already delivered showers to much of Arkansas, Missouri and southern Illinois bearing hope for the rest of the drought-struck region. On Saturday, Isaac was expected to move into Indiana and Ohio, the online weather service AccuWeather said.
Isaac made landfall late Tuesday in Louisiana, Mississippi and parts of Alabama, dumping up to 50 centimetres of rain in the region. Four deaths have been connected to the storm, CNN reported. Hundreds of thousands of people remained without power along the coast amid sweltering temperatures of 32 degrees and higher.
The US is experiencing one of its worst droughts on record. The dry spell has parched more than 60 per cent of the lower 48 states. The Mississippi had at one point become so shallow due to the drought that barge traffic had been stopped in some places.
The drought has pushed soybean prices to record highs.