Since early 2020, the Southwest United States has suffered record low precipitation and near-record high temperatures, gripping the region with an unyielding, unprecedented, and costly drought. This exceptional drought—marked by massive water shortages, destructive wildfires, emergency declarations, and the first ever water delivery shortfall among the states sharing the Colorado River—punctuates a two-decade warm and dry period that has baked the Southwest. A newly released report from ...| Drought.gov
The NOAA Climate Program Office’s Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projections (MAPP) Program organizes the Drought Task Force IV (DTF IV) to coordinate the activities of researchers supported through the MAPP/National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) Fiscal Year 2020 grant competition, "Characterizing and Anticipating U.S. Droughts’ Complex Interactions." The goal of this research initiative is to advance the understanding of drought causes and predictability, as well...| Drought.gov