Current Drought Conditions 

Over the course of the 2018 Water Year (Oct. 2017 - Sept. 2018), drought crept back into California-Nevada. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, drought conditions have not changed over the last 2 months except for expansion of severe drought (D3) at the Oregon and Utah borders. As of Sept. 25, ~48% of California-Nevada was in moderate to extreme drought and ~43% was abnormally dry. Current forecasts show most drought areas persisting into the early winter with above-normal temperatures likely.

The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) Drought and Wildland Fire Nexus (NDAWN) defines the needs and challenges of fire managers to effectively utilize drought information and aims to meet those needs and to establish a robust drought and wildland fire decision-support information network. This strategy presents a logical framework to guide how NIDIS investment over the next five years could benefit both wildland firefighters and public health and safety in fire-prone areas of the United States.

Drought over the U.S. Northern Great Plains, defined here as Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota, produced ‘Billion Dollar Disasters’ in 1988 and 2017. The principal cause of the 2017 drought was the record-low precipitation over much of northeastern Montana and western North Dakota, and near-record-low precipitation over central South Dakota during May-July.

Two-page summary of the July 25, 2018 webinar on current Southwest U.S. drought conditions, impacts, and outlook and wildfires.

July 2018 drought outlook for the states of California and Nevada. This two page document includes current drought conditions, a regional climate update, drought and climate outlook.

Drought Easing but Extreme Drought Lingers in Southern Plains. Robust Monsoon Anticipated.

• Drought peaked in May in northwest Oklahoma and the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles.

Exceptional Drought Continues in Southwest. Wet Monsoon Slightly Favored.

• The region is still mired in severe to exceptional drought due to record-high temperatures and record-low precipitation in the winter and spring
• Impacts include vegetation stress, extremely low streamflow, major wildfires, increased flood risks, and national forest closures
• Outlook favors wetter-than-normal monsoon precipitation setting in around 6-9 July

CURRENT CONDITIONS

Introduction to the Northeast Drought Early Warning System

The United States Northern Plains, comprising eastern Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, experienced a severe and rapidly-evolving drought during the summer of 2017. Considering the importance of agriculture for the region, a better understanding of Northern Plains droughts and how they evolve is critical for drought early warning. In the document, a timeline provides a chronology of the meteorological and hydrological conditions associated with the record and near-record-low surface soil moisture ahead of and during the 2017 growing season.

May 2018 drought outlook for the states of California and Nevada. This two page document includes current drought conditions, a regional climate update, drought and climate outlook.