WWA Home » Intermountain West Climate » Current Climate and Drought Monitoring

U.S. Drought monitorCurrent Climate and Drought Monitoring

The observing networks described on the Observed Climate Records page were primarily set up to provide weather and climate monitoring on hourly to seasonal timescales. Further processing and analysis of these data creates climate products that are useful for monitoring the onset and persistence of drought and the status of water resources, such as Palmer Drought Index, Standardized Precipitation Index, and the U.S Drought Monitor.


The most recent weather observations (hours to days)

MesoWest - University of Utah - Map-based display of observations from NWS COOP, RAWS, and SNOTEL networks. Users can select a state or region, the network(s) and the weather variable(s) to display.

CoCoRAHS (Community Collaborative Rain and Hail Study) - Daily observations of rain, hail, and snow from hundreds of citizen-observers across the region and the U.S.


Recent climate and drought data (days to months)

WWA Intermountain West Climate Dashboard

Current Climate Summary Maps - High Plains Regional Climate Center (HPRCC) - COOP data with many mapping options

US Drought Monitor - National Drought Mitigation Center - Weekly updated maps of drought conditions, using blend of observed drought indicators plus local drought impacts

Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) Maps - Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC) - Maps and time-series of SPI for various time scales (SPI tells you how unusual a given precipitation anomaly is, relative to the entire record)

Other Drought Monitoring Products - US Drought Portal (NIDIS) – Links to multiple drought indicators, including Palmer Drought Index, Crop Moisture Index, VegDri, Evaporative Stress Index


State and regional monthly climate summaries

WWA Intermountain West Climate Dashboard - Monthly Briefings

Drought Status Briefing for Colorado and the Upper Colorado Basin – Colorado Cimate Center and NIDIS - Weekly to monthly webinar (depending on season); PDF of presentations posted after each webinar

Wyoming Monthly Climate Summary - Wyoming State Climate Office (Note: latest summary was February 2013)

Monthly Utah Climate Update (lower left on home page) - Utah Climate Center (Note: latest update was March 2014)

Colorado Basin Water Supply Webinars - NOAA Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC)

Colorado Water Availability Task Force (WATF) Briefing Presentations - Colorado Water Conservation Board