Monitoring Drought
Other
Drought Monitoring Tools
Drought, Moisture, and Vegetation Indices
Forecasts and Advisories
Water Supply Conditions
Global Climate and Drought Monitoring
Current Drought-related Impacts and Humanitarian Issues
Drought News
Drought, Moisture, and
Vegetation Indices
NOAA’s Drought
Information Center
The Climate Diagnostics Center maintains an area that monitors emerging drought regions in the United States.
The Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC) is actively using the SPI in their monitoring efforts. Their Western States Climate Monitoring section contains many useful links that deal with conditions in the West. They also provide a great SPI Mapping Matrix Tool. Once you choose a climatic parameter and time scale, a map is generated for the United States through the current month. Don’t forget to click on any given climate division within the maps you create to pull up a lot of very useful information observed during the past 6 years for that climate division. Percentile or probability of non-exceedance maps are located here as well. You can use these maps to determine how often a value of magnitude observed (wet or dry) is seen.
The Precipitation Analysis Pages graphically show the short-term observed and climatic trends of precipitation across the lower 48 United States (CONUS) and Puerto Rico. This is an experimental product produced by the National Weather Service.
U.S. Climate at a Glance, offered by the National Climatic Data Center, provides national, regional, state, and/or local temperature and precipitation maps and data.
The International Research Institute’s Climate Monitoring site houses many products and information dealing with monitoring, forecasting, and impacts.
The National Weather Service’s Pacific Region Office serves as a gateway to all relevant monitoring links in Hawaii and the basin. Here you can find the latest conditions, forecasts, and links to the International Tsunami Information Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center.
The Alaska State Climate Center provides a comprehensive monitoring eye on the climate of our largest state.
The Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) map is the most commonly used drought index in the United States. This index, based on the supply and demand concept of the water balance equation, was developed as a tool for assessing long-term meteorological drought. It is a useful index when monitoring the agricultural impacts of drought. An overview of the PDSI is available in an NDMC white paper on drought indices.
The Climate Prediction Center’s Palmer drought information page gives weekly and projected values by region for the U.S.
CLIMVIS, a tool located at the National Climatic Data Center, allows the user to analyze the Palmer Drought Index and other data by climatic division for the entire United States.
The Crop Moisture Index (CMI), a map from the Climate Prediction Center within NOAA, was developed by W.C. Palmer in 1968 to evaluate short-term moisture conditions. The rapid response to changing moisture conditions allows the CMI to be effective at monitoring week-to-week crop conditions. As a result, however, the CMI may be misleading in analyzing long-term drought situations.
Soil Moisture Monitoring and Prediction over the U.S.A. is an experimental product from the Climate Prediction Center.
Soil Moisture forecast maps from @griculture Online Weather
14-Day Soil Moisture Outlook for the Conterminous U.S.
National Temperature and Precipitation Summaries for the continental United States, including Alaska and Hawaii
U.S. Daily Precipitation Analysis
Estimated daily precipitation for the United States from Intellicast.
Fire Danger Maps and Keetch–Byram Index Map from the USDA Forest Service
The Fire Weather site from the National Weather Service offers many worthwhile products and links.
Weekly Vegetation and Temperature Condition Index (VT) Values for many areas around the world are monitored by satellite.
The UDSA–Forest Service Wildland Fire Assessment System (WFAS) monitors vegetation conditions (NDVI) nationally: Weekly National Visual Greenness Map and Relative Greenness Map. Other WFAS products are also available.
United States Geological Survey (USGS) Drought Watch site for the Pacific Northwest States provides real-time streamflow information for locations in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
USGS Drought Monitoring provides an dynamic online map interface that can be used to view USGS datasets.
Forecasts
and Advisories
The Interactive
Weather Information Network (IWIN) from the National Weather Service
provides up-to-the-minute forecasts, watches, warnings, products, and
news on weather in the United States and around the world.
The Climate Prediction Center’s Forecast Products include 6–10 day, monthly, and multi-season forecasts.
The COLA/IGES Weather Forecasts area provides current products and analysis from the National Center for Environmental Prediction.
The International Research Institute’s (IRI) experimental climate forecasts provide an alternative look into the future.
The CPC’s U.S. Hazards Assessment guide provides emergency managers, planners, forecasters, and the public advance notice of potential threats related to climate, weather, and hydrologic events.
The latest ENSO Advisory from the Climate Prediction Center. ENSO and drought are also discussed in an NDMC white paper.
Hurricane forecasts from Bill Gray’s team at Colorado State University
Hurricane and Storm Tracking System for the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
The CPC–Weekly Climate Monitoring Tool: Just click on the map for current climate information.
Current Climate Diagnostics Bulletin
NCDC’s Current Climate Variations Bulletin
Joint Agriculture Weather Facility (JAWF) Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletins
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has Weekly Weather and Crop Reports for the U.S. and most of the states as well.
Dynamic Predictables provides 0-3 year prediction of the predictable parts of climate.
Southwest Climate Outlook, from CLIMAS (Climate Assessment for the Southwest), summarizes current climate conditions and provides climate outlooks for the southwestern United States.
Water
Supply Conditions
Western
U.S. Water Supply Outlook from the Natural Resources Conservation
Service
USGS’s Water Watch
The National Weather Service’s Hydrologic Information Center provides current conditions, and water supply outlooks, along with drought and flood statements issued by NWS offices throughout the country.
The Hydrometeorological Prediction Center provides the entire meteorological community with quantitative precipitation forecasts and numerical modeling interpretation.
SNOTEL climate maps for river basins in the Western United States
Water Resources of Hawaii and the Pacific are monitored by the USGS District Office in Honolulu.
USGS’s Water Resources of Alaska
Water Resources of the United States (USGS) contains hydrological data, state links, publications, and other great products pertaining to drought and water supply conditions around the country.
USGS’s National Ground Water Information
Weekly Snow-Pack Data for the U.S.
Global
Climate and Drought Monitoring
Drought Assessment and Mitigation in Southwest Asia is designed to be a portal of drought-related studies, news and information for the southwest Asia region and as a meeting place for scientists, managers and policy makers dealing with different aspects of droughts.
SILO contains a rich source of meteorological and agricultural information/products for Australia. The latest national Drought Statements are found here.
Current Drought Status in Queensland, Australia
NCDC’s SSM/I Monthly Image Products page allows for global analysis of land surface temperature, wetness, and snow cover.
Drought Watch is a product of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. A great source for current information on drought and its impacts across Canada.
The Canadian Climate and Water Information site provides a comprehensive listing of data sources north of the border.
Sahel Weather and Crop Situation reports from the FAO
FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) for Africa
Weekly Global Climate Highlights from CPC
CPC’s ENSO Advisory
Global Climate Monitoring Tool
CPC’s African Products
USAID’s Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) contains current bulletins and reports on conditions in Africa.
NCDC’s Climate Report is an analysis of global and U.S. data
Global, Regional and National Fire Weather and Climate Forecasts provided by UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
Global Fire Monitoring Section of the International Strategy of Disaster Reduction (ISDR)
The North American Drought Monitor (NA-DM) is a cooperative effort between drought experts in Canada, Mexico and the United States to monitor drought across the continent on an ongoing basis.
Current
Drought-Related Impacts and Humanitarian Issues
USDA’s Drought
Information Page provides comprehensive information on USDA’s
drought assistance programs and other related resources. All Secretarial
Disaster Designations for drought are included here in map form.
The Disaster Center maintains an Agricultural Disaster Drought and Water News section that includes links to all relevant disaster information for each state.
The National Weather Service’s Significant Weather Event Maps
NOAA–OGP’s Climate Information Project provides excellent daily updates as well as weekly and monthly summaries of climate-weather related impacts from both near and far. They also archive these reports.
Disaster Relief provides worldwide disaster aid and up-to-date information.
WAOB Outlook Reports contain information and forecasts of world supply-use balances of grains and products.
FAO–World Agricultural Information Centre
VITA Situation Reports via the Center for International Disaster Information
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Appeals and Situation Reports
Drought, Floods, & Prayer provides a forum for prayer response to drought and flood events around the world.
ReliefWeb is an excellent resource for information about current droughts and other natural disasters.
Drought
News
News reports are another way to monitor drought, often yielding
valuable information about drought’s effects on people, economies,
and agriculture. Linked below are a few good starting points for conducting
your own search for drought news. Many of these sites have their own search
tools that can help you find relevant material quickly.
General News Services:
United States Online
Newspaper Listings
Environmental Legislative News (U.S. News):
The
United States Federal Register
Capitol Reports / Environmental
News Link
Agricultural News:
USDA,
Farm Services Agency, News Release Index
USDA
Market News
Brownfield’s Ag
News (Midwest Ag News)
US Farm Report
Specific International News:
ReliefWeb:
National and International news on drought and other disaster relief efforts.
Africa News Online
© 2006 National Drought Mitigation Center