Flash Drought Webinar Series: “State of the Science” on Flash Drought

Droughts are often categorized as ‘flash’ droughts when they develop or intensify in a matter of weeks (though defining flash droughts continues to be an area of active debate).

The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) and the National Weather Service (NWS) are pleased to announce a series of three webinars to help climate professionals and operational service providers better understand this phenomenon, its defining characteristics and how it varies by region and season, its impacts on agricultural and other stakeholders, and the potential for improved monitoring, prediction, and planning/response tools (datasets, maps, etc.).

The first webinar will showcase the ‘state of the science’ on flash drought, based on recorded presentations from the December 2020 NIDIS-sponsored Flash Drought Virtual Workshop, followed by a live Q&A with the presenters. Flash Drought Literature Review Joel Lisonbee | NOAA/NIDIS/CIRES Flash Drought Monitoring Challenges and Needs Jason Otkin, University of Wisconsin-Madison, & Mark Svoboda, National Drought Mitigation Center Flash Drought Prediction Challenges and Needs Andy Hoell, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory, & Hailan Wang, NOAA NWS Climate Prediction Center Flash Drought Planning and Response Challenges and Needs Tim Hall, Iowa Department of Natural Resources