The above image is a high-resolution map of drought conditions in Michigan as delineated in the U.S. Drought Monitor, which is released every Thursday morning.
Below is a list of links that highlight different products that may be of interest for monitoring drought conditions.
Drought Monitors/Indices:
U.S. Drought Monitor A national map showing drought intensity and impacts, produced in collaboration by the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC), the Climate Prediction Center (CPC), and the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), among other agencies.
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html.
North American Drought Monitor Similar to the U.S. Drought Monitor, this is issued monthly for the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/monitoring/drought/nadm/nadm-map.html
Palmer Drought Index One of the major indices used when monitoring drought conditions, taking into account rainfall, temperature, and historical data. NOTE: This index is issued for climatic zones, of which the Upper Peninsula only has two.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/regional_monitoring/palmer.gif
Crop Moisture Index Based on the Palmer Drought Index, the CMI is designed to monitor short-term moisture conditions affecting develop crops. NOTE: This index is issued for climatic zones, of which the Upper Peninsula only has two.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/regional_monitoring/cmi.gif
Standardized Precipitation Index Developed in 1993, the SPI is an index based on the probability of precipitation for any time scale. The SPI can be computed for different time scales, can provide early warning of drought and help assess drought severity, and is less complex than the Palmer.
http://www.drought.unl.edu/monitor/currspi.htm
Experimental Objective Blends of Drought Indicators The short-term blend approximates drought-related impacts that respond to precipitation (and secondarily other factors) on time scales ranging from a few days to a few months, while the long-term blend approximates drought-related impacts that respond to precipitation on time scales ranging from several months to a few years.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/tools/edb/droughtblend-access-page.html
Observations:
Precipitation Monitoring Included are links for 30, 90, 180, and 365 day periods, with graphics showing precipitation, precipitation anomalies, percentage of normal, and normal precipitation totals on a national scale.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/US_anom_realtime.sh
Precipitation Analysis Included are graphics for last 1, 7, 14, 30, 60, 90, and 180 days, month to date, and year to date rainfall, as estimated by radar. You may view observed, normal, departure from normal, and percent of normal graphics. Clicking on Michigan while viewing the national map will zoom in to the state level.
WARNING: Due to blockage of radar beams by the Huron Mountains, values near Big Bay and along the Keweenaw Peninsula are lower than the actual accumulation received.
http://water.weather.gov/
U.S. Rain Days Included are graphics showing the maximum consecutive dry days in the last 7 and 30 day periods (classified as less than 0.04 inches of rain), the number of rain days in the last 7 and 30 day periods, and number of days since last rain.
http://www.drought.unl.edu/monitor/raindry/precipitationdays.html
River Streamflow Depicts the percentage of streamflow compared to historical streamflow for a given day.
http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/?m=real&r=mi
U.S. Soil Moisture Monitoring The “Soil Moisture” bullet (second from the top) leads to graphics showing soil moisture, soil moisture anomalies, soil moisture percentiles on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/soilmst/
Forecasts:
Temperature and Precipitation Outlooks The latest 1-month and 3-month temperature and precipitation outlooks issued by the Climate Prediction Center (CPC).
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/multi_season/13_seasonal_outlooks/color/page2.gif
The U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook Issued by the CPC, issued approximately every 2 weeks.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/seasonal_drought.html
Miscellaneous:
Drought Statement The latest drought statement issued by the National Weather Service in Marquette. Statements are issued as conditions warrant.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/product.php?site=mqt&product=DGT&issuedby=MQT
Climate Report The latest climate report issued by the National Weather Service in Marquette. This product gives reports on above/below normal precipitation and temperature, information on Great Lakes water levels, and detailed information on weather during the last month.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/product.php?site=mqt&product=CLM&issuedby=MQT
Great Lakes Water Levels Current conditions, forecasts, and historic data for each of the Great Lakes. Published by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/greatlakes/hh/greatlakeswaterlevels/
Drought Monitor Classification Change National graphics showing the change in drought intensity over 1 and 4 weeks, 1 month and 3 months, during the current calendar year (January 1 to present), and during the current water year (October 1 to present).
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/experimental/edb/dm-change-4maps.png
Drought Impact Reporter National database of drought impacts, including impact categories of agriculture, water/energy, environment, fire, social, and other impacts. http://droughtreporter.unl.edu/
NOAA Drought Information Center A portal for NOAA drought and climate conditions.
http://www.drought.noaa.gov/
U.S. Drought Portal A portal for drought information by the National Integrated Drought Information System.
http://www.drought.gov/
This page and its data are possible due to the efforts of the following organizations: NOAA, CPC, USGS, NDMC, USDA, and USACE.
If you have any questions about the content of this webpage, please contact Tom Green at tom.green@noaa.gov.
