Climate.gov Data Snapshots: Drought - Monthly Outlook
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Version: View help for Version V2
| Name | File Type | Size | Last Modified |
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| data | 06/23/2025 08:13:PM | ||
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application/pdf | 3.1 MB | 06/17/2025 04:34:PM |
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application/pdf | 1.4 MB | 06/17/2025 04:34:PM |
Project Citation:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Climate.gov Data Snapshots: Drought - Monthly Outlook. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2025-06-23. https://doi.org/10.3886/E233222V2
Project Description
Project Title:
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Climate.gov Data Snapshots: Drought - Monthly Outlook
Summary:
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This upload includes two additional files:
* Drought - Monthly Outlook _NOAA Climate.gov.pdf is a screenshot of the main Climate.gov site for these snapshots.
* Cimate_gov_ Data Snapshots.pdf is a screenshot of the data download page for the full-resolution files.
Q: How are conditions related to drought likely to change?
A: Colors
on each map show experts' estimates of how conditions related to
drought are likely to change by the end of the next month. Areas where
experts expect below-average precipitation or above-average temperatures
(which increase evaporation) may see drought develop, persist, or
worsen. Areas with forecasts for above-average precipitation may see
drought conditions improve or end.
Q: What information do experts use to produce drought outlooks?
A: Starting
with knowledge of current drought status, experts examine weather
forecasts and climate outlooks to check the chances for below-, near-,
or above-average precipitation and temperature during the next month.
The experts also consider seasonal patterns of precipitation (for
example, if a region usually has a wet summer), if an El Niño or La Niña
event is occurring, and if an active tropical storm season is expected.
They compare this range of factors with forecasts to determine if
conditions are likely to become drier or wetter. Based on this input,
experts make their best estimates of how conditions will change, and
assign regions into outlook categories on the map.
Q: What do the colors mean?
A: Colors
show experts' assessments of where and how conditions related to
drought are likely to change by the end of next month. Gold areas are
not currently experiencing drought, but they are likely to become drier
through the next month. Dark brown areas show where drought conditions
currently exist and are likely to persist or worsen. Tan areas are
currently experiencing drought; they are likely to see improvement, but
not an end, to drought conditions. Green shows where drought conditions
are likely to end.
Q: Why do these data matter?
A: Drought
outlooks can help decision makers plan ahead. For instance, if drought
is likely to develop in a region, farmers and ranchers may decide to
delay planting, plant a drought-resistant crop, or stockpile food and
water for livestock. Forestry officials may choose to hire additional
firefighters and secure equipment to be ready to fight wildfires. Water
managers may consider instituting water restrictions. If drought is
likely to improve or end, ranchers may choose to begin using stockpiled
resources, and farmers may choose crops that require adequate moisture.
Q: How did you produce these snapshots?
A: Data
Snapshots are derivatives of existing data products: to meet the needs
of a broad audience, we present the source data in a simplified visual
style. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) produces the source images
for the Monthly Drought Outlook. To produce our images, we run a set of
scripts that access map layers from CPC, and re-project them into
desired projections at various sizes.
Q: Data Format Description
A: The
CPC Drought Outlook zip files contain shapefiles for use in GIS
software, as well as KML files appropriate for software like Google
Earth. The original Drought Outlook data files used to make this Data
Snapshot can be found at this data directory, as well as this web page.
References
* Drought - Monthly Outlook _NOAA Climate.gov.pdf is a screenshot of the main Climate.gov site for these snapshots.
* Cimate_gov_ Data Snapshots.pdf is a screenshot of the data download page for the full-resolution files.
Original Distribution URL:
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https://www.climate.gov/data/Drought--Monthly--Drought-Outlook--US/
Scope of Project
Subject Terms:
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climate;
climate change;
droughts;
forecasting models
Geographic Coverage:
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United States
Time Period(s):
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8/2013 – 6/2025 (Monthly images from 2013 to present)
Data Type(s):
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images: photographs, drawings, graphical representations
Collection Notes:
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Data is divided in to folders by image resolution -- full size (zip), kml (zip), small (png), and large (png). Occasionally there may be one image missing in a particular size but available in another size.
Data downloaded from climate.gov 6/15/2025 - 6/16/2025 (small, large, and full resolution) and 6/21/2025 (others).
Data downloaded from climate.gov 6/15/2025 - 6/16/2025 (small, large, and full resolution) and 6/21/2025 (others).
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