Drought Information and Data
The USGS monitors drought conditions across the Nation by comparing below-normal 7-day average streamflow with historical streamflow for that day of the year.
Drought Resources
- Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Drought Monitoring: A team of researchers from the EROS Data Center, the National Drought Mitigation Center, and the High plains Regional Climate Center are developing methods for regional-scale mapping and monitoring of drought conditions for the conterminous U.S.
- U.S. Drought Monitor: a synthesis of multiple indices and impacts, that represents a consensus of federal and academic scientists. The product will be refined over time as we find ways to make it better reflect the needs of decision-makers and others who use the information.
- NRCS Water Supply Forecast: A water supply forecast is a prediction of streamflow volume that will flow past a point on a stream during a specified season, typically in the spring and summer. The NRCS, in cooperation with the National Weather Service, issues water supply forecasts for over 750 points in the western United States near the first of the month between January and June each year and at other times as requested.
- National Drought Mitigation Center: The National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) helps people and institutions develop and implement measures to reduce societal vulnerability to drought, stressing preparedness and risk management rather than crisis management.
- U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook: The National Weather Service provides a seasonal drought outlook map based on many tools including forecasts, temperature and precipitation outlooks, and medium- and short-range models.
- U.S. Drought portal: part of the National Integrated Drought Information System, this web site is part of an interactive system to provide early warning about emerging and anticipated droughts, assimilate and quality control data about droughts and models, provide information about risk and impact of droughts to different agencies and stakeholders, provide information about past droughts for comparison and to understand current conditions, explain how to plan for and manage the impacts of droughts, and provide a forum for different stakeholders to discuss drought-related issues
- NRCS weekly drought reports, SNOTEL data, year-to-date water-equivalent, and precipitation graphs by basin
DroughtWatch
WaterWatch is a national USGS web site that provides information about extreme hydrologic events like droughts.
Drought information includes maps of below normal average streamflow compared to historical streamflow for 7-day, 14-day, 28-day, and monthly averages.
