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The Missouri River Basin DEWS region includes Montana, Nebraska, and South Dakota, as well as parts of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wyoming.
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Drought Early Warning System

Missouri River Basin

In the Missouri River Basin (MRB), drought is a common climate event. Prolonged droughts in the 1930s and 1950s substantially affected water supplies, agriculture, energy, transportation of goods, and ecosystems. More recently, short duration droughts wreaked havoc on the MRB. The intense 2012 summertime drought surprised the region, as flooding was expected to continue into a second year following the devastating floods of 2011. Flash drought in the U.S. Northern Plains and Canadian Prairies in 2017 resulted in $2.6 billion of agricultural losses alone. In 2020–2021, drought affected the same area and was a multi-billion-dollar event that had wide-reaching impacts on the region’s communities, ecosystems, water resources, and agricultural systems. It was particularly the floods of 2011 and then the extreme and rapidly evolving drought in 2012 that emphasized the need for an early warning system that not only could improve how we anticipate drought events but could also improve collaboration and coordination of data and monitoring networks for floods in the Missouri Basin.

Primary contact: Jason Gerlich, Regional Drought Information Coordinator

Featured Missouri River Basin DEWS Activity

Regional Activities

Regional Activities Summary

The following table highlights activities in the Missouri River Basin that are ongoing efforts related to drought, involve multiple partners, serve as a unique way to address regional drought needs, and are related to at least one of the components of drought early warning. Please contact Jason Gerlich (jason.gerlich@noaa.gov) for more information about the table or to inquire about getting an activity added to the list.

DEWS Component Legend

Observation & Monitoring
 
Planning & Preparedness
 
Prediction & Forecasting
 
Communication & Outreach
 
Research & Applications

Select filters to browse DEWS Activities below

Description

The 2017 drought was a rapid-onset event for northeast Montana, the Dakotas, and the Canadian Prairies during the spring and summer of 2017. It was the worst drought to impact the U.S. Northern…

Scope
Region
Key Partners
NOAA, Montana Climate Office, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, North Dakota State Climate Office, South Dakota State Climate Office, High Plains Regional Climate Center, USDA Northern Plains Climate Hub, NIDIS
Project Timeline
Dec
2017
May
2019
DEWS Components
Description

The 2022 Midwest and Missouri River Basin DEWS Partners Meeting, which was held on October 13–14, 2022 in Omaha, NE, brought together partners from both the Midwest and…

Scope
Region
Key Partners
NIDIS, UCAR
Project Timeline
Oct
2022
Oct
2022
DEWS Components
Description

To improve access and usability of drought and water information across the Mississippi River Basin, NOAA, in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is developing a…

Scope
Region
Key Partners
NOAA, NIDIS, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, National Weather Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey, NOAA Regional Climate Centers, American Association of State Climatologists
Project Timeline
Jul
2024
May
2025
DEWS Components
Description

This project sought to develop drought adaptation plans for the Flandreau Santee Tribe and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. This project is unique in that it is sponsored in part by the…

Scope
State
Key Partners
Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe
Project Timeline
Jan
2017
Dec
2018
DEWS Components
Description

This project focused on developing drought adaptation plans for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the Oglala Sioux Tribe. This project is unique in that it is being sponsored in part by…

Scope
State
Key Partners
Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Oglala Sioux Tribe
Project Timeline
Jan
2017
Dec
2018
DEWS Components

Observation + Monitoring

When monitoring drought, it is important to look at data across the spectrum—from the atmosphere, land surface, and water availability below the surface. The list of data and maps below has been customized for the Missouri River Basin and provides a snapshot of conditions across that spectrum—including precipitation and temperature departure data, evaporative demand, streamflow, soil moisture, groundwater, and various derived indices for monitoring drought in the region. Monitoring for the impact of drought is also important, so this list includes resources to submit conditions and/or impacts and view conditions.

Regional Data and Maps

NOAA and its partners publish regional reports each quarter, summarizing weather, impacts and predictions.

HPRCC produces daily climate maps using data from the Applied Climate Information System (ACIS). The maps and data can be accessed and downloaded from the HPRCC website.

 

The NOAA National Weather Service River Forecast Centers each have an interactive website with a full set of real-time observations and forecasts, including snow and river conditions

This website provides access to drought indices that are used by the Montana Governor’s Drought and Water Supply Advisory Committee (Monitoring Sub-Committee), though it covers the whole Upper

WaterWatch is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) World Wide Web site that displays maps, graphs, and tables describing real-time, recent, and past streamflow conditions for the United States.

The Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI) is an experimental tool that examines how anomalous the atmospheric evaporative demand (E0; also known as "the thirst of the atmosphere") is for a given

Planning + Preparedness

There is little that can be done to influence the weather patterns that cause drought, but preparatory actions and policies can help communities cope with drought impacts. Drought planning can ensure continuity of public services and quality of life. Drought planning can be done at the local and/or state level or integrated into existing plans (e.g., hazard mitigation planning, land-use planning). 

Regional Drought Planning Resources

Prediction + Forecasting

When will drought affect me? How long could it last? This section includes resources for drought prediction and forecasting on what could be ahead, including the short-term (e.g., 8-14 day forecast), seasonal to subseasonal (e.g., monthly), and future climate projections (e.g., mid-century). The appropriate time scale will depend upon how this information is being used (e.g., drought response, mitigation management action, long-term planning). Weather and climate prediction is an evolving science, as researchers continue to find ways to improve models and forecasting capabilities at various time scales.

Regional Forecasts and Outlooks

The U.S. Monthly Drought Outlook predicts whether drought will emerge, stay the same or get better over the next 30 days or so.

The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) produces temperature and precipitation outlooks for the U.S., including 6-10 day, 8-14 day, monthly, and seasonal outlooks.

NWS provides a wide selection of forecast maps for temperature and precipitation for the next 12 hours to 6 days.

NWS WPC produces Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts (QPFs) that depict the amount of liquid precipitation expected to fall in a defined period of time.

The National Weather Service (NWS) Climate Prediction Center (CPC) produces monthly and seasonal drought outlooks based on Soil Moisture (CAS).

Grass-Cast indicates for ranchers and rangeland managers what productivity is likely to be in the upcoming growing season relative to their own county’s 34-year history.

Communication + Outreach

An important component for drought early warning is communicating this information to stakeholders across the Missouri River Basin region who need this information in order to make more informed decisions. There are various ways drought information is communicated across the Missouri River Basin, including a monthly webinar series, a quarterly climate report, and the Missouri River Basin DEWS email list. There are also regional and state-specific communications that are available within the region.

Regional Communications Documents

Missouri River Basin Partners