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Maps highlighting the effects of drought on six agricultural commodities across the continental U.S. are now available on a website hosted by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The maps are a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Chief Economist and the drought center.

Drought coverage across the country has progressively declined over the past several months, as assessed by the U.S. Drought Monitor. At the end of November 2016, drought encompassed more than one-quarter of the nation. That number dropped below 12 percent at the end of March 2017, and to 4.2 percent in early May, the least coverage since Drought Monitor statistics were first calculated at the beginning of 2000.

Each week, the Colorado Climate Center assembles an assessment of drought-related conditions in the five-state region of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. Data, maps, and summaries consider precipitation, snowpack, streamflow, surface water, evaporative demand, temperature, and outlooks for the next week through three months.

The Sub-Seasonal Climate Forecast Rodeo is a year-long, real-time forecasting competition focused on western U.S. temperature and precipitation for weeks 3&4 and weeks 5&6. The Bureau of Reclamation is sponsoring the competition in partnership with NOAA, USGS, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Contestants submit forecasts every other week, and these are evaluated as observed data become available.