Drought is one of the costliest and deadliest climate-related disasters in the United States, necessitating public health engagement at a national level. Although drought is not typically thought of as a health hazard, the pathways to human health outcomes are prevalent and numerous. To better understand these pathways, and actions that could be taken to reduce health impacts associated with drought, NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) supported the first comprehensive assessment of drought and health.

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Southern Region for December 2022–February 2023. Dated March 2023.

Winter 2022–2023 temperatures were above normal across much of the Southern Region, with stations averaging 0 to 2°F above normal in the west and 4 to 8°F in the east. Below-normal precipitation was common in southern, western Texas, the Texas Panhandle, western Oklahoma, and along the Gulf Coast. In eastern Oklahoma, much of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee precipitation was above normal.

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Southern Region for September–November 2022. Dated December 2022.

The 2022–2026 National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) Strategic Plan outlines and advances NIDIS’s approach to building a national drought early warning system (DEWS). 

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Southern Region for June–August 2022. Dated September 2022.

Summer started off dry and hot across most of the Southern region and stayed that way until mid-August. Weather conditions shifted in August, as a persistent ridge of high pressure gave way to deep tropical air from the southeast.