Browse news articles

NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) has awarded funding for nine new research projects to improve drought assessment. These projects support NOAA’s mission by advancing our scientific understanding of drought and partnerships that help turn scientific understanding into long-term drought resilience.  

On September 23, 2026, the Nebraska Mesonet celebrated a red-letter—or rather, red-ribbon—day, achieving a major milestone for national meteorologic and hydrologic monitoring. Users of mesonet data gathered from around the state for a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the completion of its 35th and final station installed as part of the regional Upper Missouri River Basin (UMRB) Soil Moisture and Snowpack Project. 

NIDIS has been closely collaborating with the National Weather Service to improve its drought outlook products and services to meet user requests for improved drought outlook graphics and new probabilistic drought outlook products. These efforts are grounded in both advancing drought prediction science and leveraging design and visualization social science. 

Take a look back at drought in summer 2026 in maps. The contiguous United States experienced its warmest June-August on record in 2026, accompanied by below-normal precipitation and above-normal temperatures that sustained widespread drought, now covering nearly half the country. These extreme conditions fueled a destructive wildfire season that sent unhealthy levels of smoke streaming through large parts of the United States. Major western reservoirs like Lake Mead and Lake Powell hit all-time record lows as they continued to decline. 

A new NIDIS-funded study published in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology examined flash drought risk across the Southeast from 2001–2023 and how the timing of these events overlaps with periods when major crops are most sensitive to water stress.

The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is hosting its 107th annual meeting on January 10–14, 2027, in Denver, Colorado. This year, the meeting will focus on the theme, “PEOPLE: People Educated On Planet Live Empowered.” 

When drought develops, its effects extend well beyond a single number or a color on a map. Changes in precipitation, streamflow, groundwater and water supplies affect the plants, fish, wildlife, and people connected to the landscape. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) created its Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) Dashboard to bring those relationships into one accessible and culturally relevant information source. 

When drought intensifies, decisions cannot wait. Yet the information guiding those decisions is often scattered across multiple websites, difficult to compare, and challenging to translate into action. To help close that gap, the Montana Climate Office has launched the Drought Data Dashboard (D3, pronounced “D three”), a free, open-source web platform that delivers daily drought information across the contiguous United States.

Soil moisture and snowpack data serve as a tool to support critical decisions: farmers rely on it to decide when to plant crops; forecasters and communities use it for flood warnings; and federal scientists use it to monitor and identify drought. A recent NIDIS-funded study within the UMRB project found strong interest in using soil moisture and snowpack data across sectors and opportunities to further expand and maximize such use by refining communications and providing data in more accessible formats.

A new interactive web-based tool, TroutCast, launched on June 1, 2026 to help forecast drought impacts on trout populations and support fisheries and water management across Montana’s renowned blue-ribbon rivers.