Southwest Drought Briefing: May 23, 2023

May 23, 2023

1:00 pm - 1:35 pm

MDT

The Southwest has seen record-setting snowpack this winter. Short-term drought in the region has greatly improved. As we look forward to the spring melt, what will this mean for reservoir storage and long-term drought? This webinar looked at current and forecasted drought conditions for Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah and then highlighted the LandPKS as a tool to monitor land changes over time

For more information, please contact Gretel Follingstad (gretel.follingstad@noaa.gov).

0:00

Welcome to the Southwest Drought Briefing

Speaker: Gretel Follingstad | Drought Information Coordinator, NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS); Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)

Welcome to the May 2023 Southwest Drought Briefing.
Learn more about the Southwest Drought Learning Network.
View past webinar recordings at drought.gov/webinars.
Introducing the speakers:
- Joe Casola, NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
- Jeff Herrick, USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
- Laura Hamrick, Mortenson Center for Global Engineering & Resilience - University of Colorado, Boulder

4:44

Current Conditions and Drought Outlook

Speaker: Joe Casola | NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Since the beginning of the Water Year, there has been substantial improvement in drought conditions across the Southwest.
Smaller areas of drought remain in Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado.
Outlooks suggest elevated chances for warmer-than-average temperatures in the summer, and the potential for a below-average monsoon.
El Niño is anticipated to develop by the fall.

15:44

Land Potential Knowledge System (PKS)

Speakers: Jeff Herrick | USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS); Laura Hamrick | Mortenson Center for Global Engineering & Resilience - University of Colorado, Boulder

Knowing soil type is essential for drought planning & adaptation. Soil type determines water potential holding capacity, water infiltration, and the types of crops/vegetation the soil can support.
LandPKS is a free mobile app that can help identify soil types and monitor vegetation.
The LandPKS step-by-step guides and built-in algorithm helps non-soil scientists identify their soil
Visit the LandPKS website to download and use the current app or to watch short training videos.
To offer feedback or suggestions for future versions of the app, please email contact@landpotential.org.