U.S. Drought Monitor Forum Set for Oct. 7-8 in Austin, TX

Final preparations are underway for the 2009 U.S. Drought Monitor Forum, celebrating 10 years and over 500 weekly  Drought Monitor maps, October 7-8 in Austin, Texas. The NDMC is organizing and sponsoring the meeting for 100 Drought Monitor authors, users, and stakeholders, with the Lower Colorado River Authority hosting it at its Redbud Center.

Since the U.S. Drought Monitor was established as an experimental product in 1999, it has gained widespread recognition and credibility. The Drought Monitor is used to trigger drought aid, such as a tax deferral on livestock losses, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Livestock Forage Disaster Program, and releasing land from the Conservation Reserve Program for emergency haying and grazing.

The U.S. Drought Monitor is the work of several rotating authors and nearly 275 reviewers  across the country. Authors work for the NDMC, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the USDA, and the Western Regional Climate Center. It is a composite index, based on real-time data on precipitation, soil moisture, and streamflow, and on statistical drought indices, reported impacts, and the authors’ best judgment. The authors’ willingness to reconcile conflicting data and introduce a very well-informed subjective element to the process is one of the factors that makes the map simple enough to be of widespread use.

The U.S. Drought Monitor Forum, held every other year, alternates with the North American Drought Monitor Forum in Canada or Mexico. The Forum is a chance for authors, users, and stakeholders to work together to discuss emerging issues and methods and to fine-tune the map in the process.

The latest agenda is available online:
http://drought.unl.edu/registration/DMF-TX2009/Drought%20Monitor%20Forum%202009%20Agenda%20DRAFT2.pdf

The first official U.S. Drought Monitor map was released August 11, 1999, at a White House press conference.

Back to DroughtScape Fall 2009