Advancing scientific understanding of climate, improving society’s ability to plan and respond
Advancing scientific understanding of climate, improving society’s ability to plan and respond
Two new studies that hint at the tantalizing possibility that persistent drought conditions could be predictable one or more years in advance, using the influence of the tropical Pacific Ocean’s slow changes in temperature.
Persistent U.S. droughts could be forecasted years in advance Read More »
The crippling wintertime droughts that struck California from 2013 to 2015, as well as this year’s unusually wet California winter, appear to be associated with the same phenomenon: a distinctive wave pattern that emerges in the upper atmosphere and circles the globe.
Scientists link California droughts and floods to distinctive atmospheric waves Read More »
A subgroup of the NOAA Drought Task Force recently released a science assessment looking at the relationship between El Niño and the California drought, a discussion that is pertinent within the context of the strong 2015/2016 El Niño event.
What can drought-stricken California expect from the El Niño winter forecast? Read More »
A new report from the NOAA Drought Task Force, “Research to Advance National Drought Monitoring and Prediction Capabilities,” highlights the crucial role NOAA research plays in advancing our ability to prepare for and react to drought.
New research funded by CPO’s MAPP Program focuses on drought in the central U.S./Great Plains region and evaluates why summer droughts occur in the Southern Great Plains during some La Niña years but not in others, and how several drought indicators may promote drought preparedness during future flash drought (droughts that intensify rapidly) events.
The NOAA CPO Modeling, Analysis, Prediction, and Projections (MAPP) program hosted a webinar on the topic of California Drought: ENSO Implications and Operational Outlook on Monday, September 28, 2015. The announcement is provided below; you are invited to remotely join the session.
MAPP Webinar Series: California Drought: ENSO Implications and Operational Outlook Read More »
NOAA OAR played a significant role in the recently-convened AGU Chapman Conference on the California Drought, held in Irvine, California during April 20-22.
OAR Science Integral to Understanding and Predicting California Drought Read More »
The Climate Program Office congratulations the Drought Assessment Team, which was awarded a Group Silver Medal for Scientific/Engineering Achievement for their work assessing the origins of the 2012 Central Plains Drought. The group includes CPO’s Modeling, Analysis, Predictions and Projections (MAPP) Program and the Drought Task Force.
Drought Task Force awarded Silver Medal Read More »
This NOAA Drought Task Force/NIDIS report details the results of an extensive multi-research-group analysis of the causes and predictability of the drought. The report finds that the exceedingly warm and dry conditions that caused the drought were due to a high pressure ridge off the west coast of the United States influenced heavily by anomalous sea surface temperatures. These influences are attributed to natural variability.
Researchers offer new insights into predicting future droughts in California Read More »
This special collection of the Journal of Hydrometeorology focuses on scientific research to advance the U.S.’s capability to monitor and predict drought, including the development of new data and methodologies. The results presented in this issue represent the outcomes of research in large part funded by NOAA’s Modeling, Analysis, Predictions and Projections (MAPP) program, also leveraging other U.S. agencies’ investments, and coordinated within the framework of the MAPP Drought Task Force.