Understanding, Translating, and Messaging Drought Conditions: Providing Guidance to Stakeholders During a Drought

Welcome

Speakers: Maggie Hurwitz, National Weather Service; Meredith Muth, National Integrated Drought Information System

• This is the fourth in a five-part webinar series, "Strengthening the NWS Drought Toolbox," co-organized by the National Weather Service (NWS) and the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS).
• The purpose of this webinar series is to support NWS field office staff, operational meteorologists, climatologists and hydrologists, to embed new drought tools, products, and insights into local and regional drought services.  
• This webinar supplements the COMET training module titled “Communicating Subseasonal to Seasonal Impacts: Drought," providing a recap of the content as well as a more detailed description of the two regional case studies and the products and tools used to message drought to stakeholders during each drought event.

Communicating Subseasonal to Seasonal Impacts: Drought

Speakers: Keliann LaConte and Amy Stevermer, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) COMET Program

• Many areas of the U.S. are experiencing an alarming pattern where drought is more frequent, intense, and longer-duration relative to historical trends. 
• NWS staff need to be able to choose the right products and tools to assess drought conditions in their local area and effectively message drought severity, outlook, and impacts, as well as the local climate context, to stakeholders.
• In the module, you will:
  • Practice decision support related to drought impacts through two scenarios where you are asked to prepare talking points for briefings with stakeholders. 
  • Learn to tailor messages to be clear, proactive, authoritative, accurate, audience-focused, representative, and organized. 
  • Gain experience in using NOAA drought monitoring products, tools, and outlooks in the context of providing decision support.
• The COMET training module is freely available here.
• The module is expected to take less than an hour to complete
• For more information, contact Amy Stevermer and Keliann LaConte.

Case Study: North Dakota

Speaker: Megan Jones, NWS Bismarck Weather Forecast Office

• North Dakota experienced an extended period of drought from 2020–2022.
• Tools used for decision support:
  • High Plains Regional Climate Center/Midwestern Regional Climate Center temperature and precipitation maps
  • Soil moisture percentiles
  • NWS Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Temperature and Precipitation Outlooks
  • CPC Drought Outlook
  • U.S. Geological Survey streamflow
  • Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) precipitation
  • Local knowledge and reports.
• Effective ways to message drought conditions to partners included:
  • Bi-weekly briefings, using a Central Region briefing template
  • Emails to partner contact list
  • Posting a headline link on the WFO web page
  • Semi-frequent social media posts with U.S. Drought Monitor updates.
• For more information, contact Megan Jones.

Case Study: Las Vegas and Colorado River Water Supply

Speakers: Chelsea Peters, NWS Sacramento Weather Forecast Office; Paul Miller, NWS Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC)

• The 2000–2021 period was the driest 22-year period on record for the Colorado River Basin.
• The Colorado Basin River Forecast Center’s major partners are the NWS Weather Forecast Offices and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
• August is a key decision time for the Bureau of Reclamation (i.e., planning for water shortage conditions or releases).
• Tools used for decision support:
  • Precipitation departures from normal
  • Precipitation anomalies during El Niño and La Niña events
  • Water year precipitation departure from normal
  • CPC monthly and seasonal outlooks
  • USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service snow water equivalent charts
  • CBRFC water supply forecasts, including the 10th–90th percentile forecasts
  • Soil moisture conditions
  • Bureau of Reclamation projections for Lake Mead and Lake Powell.
• Effective ways to message drought conditions to partners included:
  • Drought and fire outlook briefings
  • Climate/drought newsletters
  • Winter outlooks, which included graphics, a web page, and a newsletter
  • Social media graphics
  • Emails soliciting local drought impacts
  • Annual stakeholder meetings.

For more information, contact Chelsea Peters or Paul Miller.

Q&A and Closing

Speaker: Maggie Hurwitz, NWS

• The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) has a number of drought tools to further support WFO drought communication efforts. 
  • Drought.gov has maps on historical, current conditions, and outlooks, including NWS products, that can be tailored for your geographic region (national, state, and local scale).
  • Sign up for NIDIS newsletters for your region, for additional drought communication products that can be utilized in your communication efforts (webinars, drought status updates, etc.).
• Future topics in this NWS-NIDIS Webinar Series are:
• Understanding, Translating, and Messaging Drought Conditions: Providing Guidance to Stakeholders During a Drought (TBD 2024)
• Webinar recaps and recordings are available for the previous webinars in this series:
  • Improving Local Drought Awareness and Messaging Using New NWS Drought Information Statements (August 28, 2023)
  • Monitoring, Predicting, and Communicating Flash Drought in Your Region (October 17, 2023)
  • Assessing Drought in a Changing Climate (December 6, 2023)