Optimizing Drought Assessment for Soil Moisture Deficits

Accurate drought assessments are critical for mitigating the detrimental impacts of water scarcity on communities across the world. In many regions, deficits in soil moisture represent a key driver of drought conditions. However, relationships between soil moisture and widely used drought indicators have not been thoroughly evaluated.

This study, led by researchers from the Montana Climate Office, University of Montana, and U.S. Forest Service, and published in Water Resources Research, conducted an in-depth assessment of the accuracy of operational soil moisture models used for drought monitoring. The researchers used 2,405 observed time series of soil moisture from 637 long-term monitoring stations across the conterminous United States to test the ability of meteorological drought indices and soil moisture models to accurately characterize soil moisture drought. 

This study is the result of NIDIS-funded research: Enhancing Drought Monitoring and Early Warning in the Upper Missouri River Basin.