Drought Prediction: A Focus on Streamflow - End User Listening Session
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) are holding a series of listening sessions on Drought Prediction and Water Availability to seek input on priorities and needs related to predicting water availability changes under drought conditions at national and regional scales. This input will be used to guide USGS Drought Program planning and orientation, as well as to inform other national drought programs.
This first listening session, focused on streamflow, was held on March 3, 2022, and included a short introduction to streamflow drought prediction products, followed by guided discussions with participants on research priorities for product development or improvement at the national or regional scale.
For more information, see the final USGS-NIDIS report on this series: Drought Prediction and Water Availability: A Report on the 2022 USGS-NIDIS National Listening Session Series.
Breakout Discussions
After the plenary, small breakout groups were held for approximately 50 minutes to discuss:
- How do you use streamflow information in your applications to anticipate changes related to drought conditions?
- Based on your organization, what are challenges, special considerations, or common uncertainties for predicting streamflow changes related to drought?
- What hydrologic drought prediction products or indices do you currently use to predict streamflow changes in your area?
- What improvements to streamflow information and prediction would help you the most (e.g. timescale, resolution, specific locations, etc.)?
All participants briefly rejoined the larger session after the breakouts to look at takeaways from the last topic of improvements to streamflow information and prediction. A quick poll was taken of key ideas; these provide a preliminary sense of priorities from the session, to be further analyzed over time. These very preliminary results are provided here.
This series of listening sessions will continue over the next several months. Links and registration information can be found at:
- Drought Prediction: A Focus on Groundwater - End User Listening Session, May 5, 2022
- Drought Prediction: Water Use Information - End User Listening Session, July 14, 2022
- Drought Prediction: Water Availability Prediction for Ecosystems - End User Listening Session, September 8, 2022
- National Listening Session Series Next Steps: Drought Prediction and Water Availability, October 20, 2022
Register for the upcoming listening sessions.
