NDMC founding director Don Wilhite and climatologist Mark Svoboda were separately in Chile, the Netherlands and Switzerland, helping with various international efforts to prepare for drought.
DroughtScape is the quarterly newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC). The NDMC’s mission is to reduce vulnerability to drought, nationally and internationally. Please email the editor: droughtscape@unl.edu
El Niņo Could Bring Wet Winter After Hot Summer
A possible El Niņo in the fall could mean a cooler, wetter winter for the southern tier, which would bring much-needed relief to Texas. Meanwhile, forecasters anticipate a chance of above-normal temperatures over the West, south Florida, and interior Alaska. In May, torrential rains erased drought from Florida.
The second quarter of the year saw farmers and ranchers in California and Texas continuing to suffer. Urban water suppliers were also taking measures to reduce consumption.
The NDMC is helping the National Weather Service anticipate the effects of low flows for 50 sites in the Alabama, Coosa, and Tallapoosa and Appalachicola, Chattahoochie, and Flint River Basins and for 164 sites in the Upper Colorado River Basin.
The Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI) marked a milestone in May when its coverage expanded to include the eastern United States. We are now seeking evaluators from eastern states. At right, VegDRI PI Brian Wardlow and RMA sponsor Bob Smith field questions at a workshop.