• A public webinar on the U.S. Drought Monitor will be held May 1, 2025.
• Experts will explain how drought data is collected, assessed, and mapped.
• Citizen input plays an important role in shaping weekly drought reports.
• The event is hosted by the National Drought Mitigation Center in partnership with USDA and NOAA.

Sunday, April 27, 2025 — A free informational webinar will take place on May 1, 2025, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time, offering the public a chance to learn about the process behind the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) and how local observations contribute to the national drought picture.

Unlike weather forecasts, the U.S. Drought Monitor is a retrospective tool. Each week, a team of expert authors examines recent data on precipitation, temperature, soil moisture, streamflow, and other indicators to assess where drought conditions have changed. As explained in the announcement, “The USDM is a weekly map showing the location and intensity of drought across the U.S.”

The map’s accuracy relies heavily on a network of local experts, including state climatologists and National Weather Service meteorologists, who help interpret how drought conditions are affecting different regions. Additionally, citizen scientists and crowdsourced observations play an important role in supplementing the official data.

The webinar will cover how the USDM process works, how citizen input can be provided, and what programs and decisions are triggered by drought classifications. It will also offer guidance for state assessment teams on how to organize and coordinate their feedback to the USDM authors. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback during the session.

The National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC), the academic partner and web host of the U.S. Drought Monitor, will present the webinar. The USDM itself is a joint effort by the NDMC, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Those interested in attending will receive the webinar link prior to the event. For questions, contact Curtis Riganti at the National Drought Mitigation Center at criganti2@unl.edu.

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