The December Drought & Climate Outlook Webinar will provide climate and drought updates, outlooks on future conditions, and relevant tools and sources to monitor winter conditions in the region.

The California-Nevada Drought Early Warning System (CA-NV DEWS) December 2024 Drought & Climate Outlook Webinar is part of a series of regular drought and climate outlook webinars. These webinars provide stakeholders and other interested parties in the region with timely information on current drought status and impacts, as well as a preview of current and developing climatic events (i.e., El Niño and La Niña). 

This webinar will also be recorded and available here.

Featured Presentations

Drought and Climate Update and Outlook

Pete Fickenscher | NOAA National Weather Service California-Nevada River Forecast Center 

Tools and Resources for your Winter Toolbox

Pete Fickenscher | NOAA National Weather Service California-Nevada

River Forecast Center

Julie Kalansky | Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California - San Diego

Amanda Sheffield | University of Colorado Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, NOAA NIDIS

For additional information contact Amanda Sheffield, CIRES/NOAA/NIDIS.

News

Rising Heat Driving Western U.S. Droughts 

Higher temperatures caused by anthropogenic climate change made an ordinary drought into an exceptional drought that parched the American West from 2020-2022, according to a new study by scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences.  

The scientists found evaporative demand, or the thirst of the atmosphere, has played a bigger role than reduced precipitation in droughts since 2000. Historically, drought in the West has been caused by lack of precipitation, while evaporative demand played a smaller role. Now, droughts induced by natural fluctuations in rainfall still exist, but there’s more heat to suck moisture from bodies of water, plants, and soil. The researchers predict that droughts will last longer, cover wider areas, and become more severe as the climate warms. Learn more >

New Study Finds Drought Recovery Hindered by a Changing Climate

A new study found a changing change means it takes about three months longer for California to recover from drought, and possibly longer. Researchers from the University of California Merced estimated the odds of recovery in the recent past and historical record and compared those to what recovery would have looked like in a world without climate change. They found the probability of drought recovery is about 25%–50% lower in recent decades (2000–2021) than in the historical record (1901–1980), with at least one-third of the reduced recovery probability attributable to a changing climate.

Climate model ensembles show reduced recovery probabilities in the contemporary era (2000–2040), primarily due to increased evaporative demand in non-winter months, resulting in an additional 1–4 months for droughts to recover compared to the historical record. This research, supported by funding from NIDIS and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, suggests a changing climate is slowing drought recovery, with ramifications for water management decisions and drought planning.

Learn more >

Snow Drought’s Influence on Runoff Varies Across the U.S. 

A new study examined the frequency and impact of snow drought on snowy regions of the U.S. The U.S. Geological Survey study examined how three combinations of climate patterns that create snow drought (cool and dry, warm and dry, and warm and wet) influence runoff. 

Across the U.S., snow droughts caused by warm and dry conditions were the most common form of snow drought. The Northeast and Rocky Mountains were also often impacted by cool and dry snow droughts. Snow droughts caused by low precipitation were linked to low streamflows across the U.S. In the Western U.S., warm and wet snow droughts were also associated with lower annual streamflow. Consecutive snow drought years further reduced the ratio of snowfall to runoff and increased the number of low flow days, likely due to groundwater and soil moisture depletion. These results can help guide water managers as they face a changing hydroclimate. Learn more >

NIDIS Seeks Reviewers for FY25 Coping with Drought Grant Competition

NIDIS seeks experts to serve as virtual panelists for technical and relevance review of applications to the Fiscal Year 2025 Coping with Drought: Understanding and Assessing Drought in a Changing Climate grant competition. This is an applied research competition, and we are looking for scientists, technical experts, and decision-makers representing the drought community to ensure proposals are technically sound and will benefit drought assessment and decisions made based on assessments. Please indicate your interest in serving as a review panel member using this form. Virtual panels (Technical and Relevance) will be in early 2025 (~February through April). If you have any questions or issues with the form please contact Britt Parker.