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Flash Drought Virtual Workshop

Dec 1
December 1, 2020 - December 3, 2020
11:00 am - 3:45 pm
Location
Virtual
Wilting crops, showing the impacts of drought

NIDIS hosted this virtual workshop for subject matter experts and others - including end users of drought information - to share perspectives on flash drought and to jointly identify a research pathway to address the management and response challenges flash drought poses.

The Flash Drought Workshop had four main objectives:

  • Strive for agreement on the basic set of characteristics to which definitions of flash drought should adhere; explore “most useful” flash drought definitions by sector, region, and application.
  • Discuss, understand, and document how existing tools and research can be shaped to meet user needs both in the near-term and in the future.
  • Develop a list of outstanding research needs in monitoring, prediction, and planning/response to improve early warning.
  • Agree upon next steps for this emerging domain and how NIDIS and other partners can support research and coordination.

Read the workshop report, view a summary of key takeaways, or read a flash drought literature review synthesizing existing research and its range of proposed definitions for flash drought. You can also access recordings of all the workshop presentations below.

Recorded Workshop Presentations

Day 1: Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Block 1: Setting the Context: Flash Drought Stories and Survey Report
Session Recording/Presentations Presenter(s)
Full Session Recording Marina Skumanich, NIDIS; Veva Deheza, NIDIS; Presenters
Flash Drought Origin Story Mark Svoboda, National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC), University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Flash Droughts in Georgia in 2016 and 2019 Pam Knox, University of Georgia
Flash Drought in Missouri in 2012 Pat Guinan, University of Missouri
Flash Drought in Montana in 2017 Michael Downey, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation
Flash Drought in Perceptions Survey Tonya Haigh, NDMC

 

Block 2: Exploring Flash Drought Characteristics
Session Recording/Presentations Presenter(s)
Full Session Recording Marina Skumanich, NIDIS; Joel Lisonbee, NIDIS; Breakout Group Leaders
Flash Drought Literature Review Joel Lisonbee, NIDIS

 

Day 2: Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Block 3: Shaping Tools/Research to Meet User Needs
Session Recording/Presentations Presenter(s)
Full Session Recording Joel Lisonbee, NIDIS; Breakout Group Leaders

 

Day 3: Thursday, December 3, 2020

Block 4: Identify Research Needs in Monitoring, Prediction, and Planning/Response
Session Recording/Presentations Presenter(s)
Full Session Recording Molly Woloszyn, NIDIS; Presenters
Monitoring Research Challenges and Needs Jason Otkin, University of Wisconsin; Mark Svoboda, NDMC
Prediction Research Challenges and Needs Andy Hoell, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory; Hailan Wang, NOAA Climate Prediction Center
Planning & Response Research Challenges and Needs Tim Hall, Iowa Department of Natural Resources

 

Block 5: Determining the Path Forward
Session Recording/Presentations Presenter(s)
Full Session Recording Molly Woloszyn, Joel Lisonbee, and Veva Deheza, NIDIS; Breakout Group Leaders

 

In planning this workshop, NIDIS would like to acknowledge the contributions of Andy Hoell (NOAA), Jason Otkin (University of Wisconsin), Mark Svoboda (NDMC), Mike Hobbins (NOAA), and Roger Pulwarty (NOAA).