Flash Drought Webinar: Emerging Tools for Flash Drought Monitoring and Prediction

Droughts are often categorized as "flash" droughts when they develop or intensify in a matter of weeks (though defining flash droughts continues to be an area of active debate). The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) and the National Weather Service partnered to host three flash drought webinars in 2021 to help climate professionals and operational service providers better understand this phenomenon, its defining characteristics and how it varies by region and season, its impacts on agricultural and other stakeholders, and the potential for improved monitoring, prediction, and planning/response tools (datasets, maps, etc.).

Presentations focused on emerging tools for flash drought monitoring and prediction from NOAA and other institutions:

• "Experimental Subseasonal Tools to Support Flash Drought Monitoring and Prediction at the Climate Prediction Center," L. Gwen Chen, NOAA Climate Prediction Center
• "Upcoming Product: Week-2 Flash Drought Forecasts," Brad Pugh, NOAA Climate Prediction Center
• "Survey of Other Emerging Flash Drought Tools," Trent Ford, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

For more information on flash drought, please see What is Flash Drought? What Can We Do About it?. For more information on this webinar, please email Marina Skumanich, marina.skumanich@noaa.gov.