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Basics of Drought
A drought is a long period (usually a season or more) of dry weather where less than normal or no precipitation falls. Precipitation is any form of moisture such as rain, snow, sleet, etc.
How the State Determines Drought Responses - Scientists at EPD monitor many indicators of moisture in the state to help determine if a "drought response" is necessary. The data and information to help determine if drought response is needed comes from EPD monitoring stations, the state climatologist, the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Weather Service and others. The indicators include:
- groundwater levels,
- streamflows,
- reservoir levels,
- rainfall in the past 3, 6, and 9 months,
- expected rainfall in the next 90 days, and
- water use patterns across the state.