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Southwest Drought Briefing: June 21, 2021

Event Date
June 21, 2021
Event Time
10:00 am - 10:30 am
Timezone
MDT
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The most recent United States Drought Monitor indicates that all of the Southwest is experiencing some level of drought, and forecasts indicate these conditions are expected to continue through summer. In this short drought briefing, Jon Meyer from the Utah Climate Center provides an update of current drought conditions and forecasts for Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Nevada. Following which, Noah Newman provides information about CoCoRaHS rainfall data and drought monitoring

Timestamp
0:00

Introduction and Welcome

Speaker: Joel Lisonbee, NOAA/National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS)

  • Acknowledgement of partners in producing this webinar: Emile Elias from the Southwest Climate Hub, Jon Meyer from the Utah Climate Center at Utah State University, and Noah Newman from the Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University and CoCoRaHS. 
  • The Southwest Drought Briefing gives an update on conditions and resources for the Southwest. These half-hour webinars will be held monthly for as long as this region is experiencing extreme drought conditions.
  • The next webinar will be a west-wide webinar on July 20. More details to come.

 

Timestamp
3:24

Current Drought Conditions in the Western U.S.

Speaker: Jon Meyer, Utah Climate Center

  • June so far has seen very low rainfall, including 0 inches in many locations, and record-setting high temperatures.
  • The last 12 months’ precipitation has been the lowest on record for much of Arizona, western New Mexico, Southern Utah, and Southern Nevada.
  • Hot and dry weather is the most likely outcome through summer.

 

Timestamp
13:37

Community Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS)

Speaker: Noah Newman, Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University and CoCoRaHS

  • CoCoRaHS has two main goals: (1) high-quality precipitation data and (2) educational resources and outreach.
  • Citizen science/crowdsourced data program to observe rain, snow and hail.
  • Volunteers are encouraged to provide drought condition monitoring reports.
  • To become a CoCoRaHS volunteer observer, please visit https://www.cocorahs.org/.
  • Come Rain or Shine Podcast about CoCoRaHS

 

Key Partners

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

U.S. Department of Agriculture logo

Southwest Climate Hub

Utah Climate Center logo

Utah Climate Center

Colorado Climate Center logo

Colorado Climate Center

Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) logo

Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS)

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