National Drought Mitigation Center
Drought coverage in the 48 contiguous states increased 2.52 percentage points to 38.37 in the four weeks that ended April 1. Drought coverage is at its highest point since Oct. 8, 2013, and up 7.42 percentage points from the beginning of the year, said Brad Rippey, meteorologist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Chief Economist.
Tsegaye Tadesse, climatologist and remote sensing expert at UNL’s National Drought Mitigation Center, is leading a three-year, $1.6 million, multi-institution NASA-funded project to help predict drought and flood in the Greater Horn of Africa.
Drought eased in some areas but encroached into others in the four weeks ending March 4, resulting in a slight overall reduction, to 35.85 percent of the 48 contiguous states, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. “A blockbuster storm struck California as the calendar turned from February to March, averting a record-breaking season for dryness,” said Brad Rippey, a meteorologist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Chief Economist.