Droughts
Droughts
Drought: A period of drier than normal conditions.
Droughts reduce the amount of available water for both human use and ecosystem functioning, so the ability to predict and prepare for droughts and manage water resources sustainably during these periods is critical. Browse our drought investigations below.
Drought Forecasting Tools
Drought Forecasting Tools
The following interactive maps are used for predicting droughts across the region.
- Virginia - Drought Streamflow Probabilities for Virginia Streams
- West Virginia - Public Water System Drought Risk
- Northeastern US - Drought Streamflow Probabilities
- Northeastern US - Drought Forecasting for Groundwater
- Fauquier County, Virginia - Groundwater Recharge
- Kentucky - Drought Condition Monitor
- USA - DroughtWatch
Learn More about Droughts
Learn More about Droughts
Interested in learning more? Check out the research on droughts going on across the USGS.
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Modeling summer month hydrological drought probabilities in the United States using antecedent flow conditions
Climate change raises concern that risks of hydrological drought may be increasing. We estimate hydrological drought probabilities for rivers and streams in the United States using maximum likelihood logistic regression (MLLR). Streamflow data from winter months are used to estimate the chance of hydrological drought during summer months. Daily streamflow data collected from 9,144 stream gages...
Estimating Drought Streamflow Probabilities for Virginia Streams
Planning for drought conditions in Virginia streams is essential to the sound management of water resources and associated riparian and watershed ecosystems. Reliable estimations of the likelihood that stream flows during drought-prone months will exceed specific low-flow thresholds can provide advance warning of drought conditions, allowing extended lead times for improved drought awareness and...