Last year the humidity here dipped down to 11% a couple of times, Toni, so that's not the reason. Besides, powdery mildew is not like other forms of mildew. It can't grow on wet surfaces. It thrives on dry weather.
Your Dust Bowl reference reminded me of a funny Will Rogers remark, however. He said that the Dust Bowl forced the Okies to leave Oklahoma and move to California, thereby raising the IQ of both states.
