July 12, 2018

Public asked to submit drought information

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The public is invited to submit information to help local, state and national decision-makers assess drought conditions and impacts in Missouri.

You may submit information about conditions in your area to the Missouri Extension Drought Impact Reporter at arcg.is/1f95Pi, said Pat Guinan, University of Missouri Extension climatologist. Guinan worked with the National Drought Mitigation Center and the National Integrated Drought Information System to develop the website.

“This site will be very helpful when it comes to assessing drought conditions and compiling impact reports at the local, county and state level,” he said.

Information provided by users is shared with the national Drought Impact Reporter (droughtreporter.unl.edu), the nation’s first comprehensive database of drought impacts.

Input from Missourians helps decision-makers gain a more complete and accurate portrayal of drought conditions affecting the Show-Me State, Guinan said.

A related resources is the U.S. Drought Monitor at droughtmonitor.unl.edu, a weekly map that shows the location and intensity of drought in the U.S. The map is based on measurements of climatic, hydrologic and soil conditions as well as reported impacts and observations from hundreds of contributors across the country, including people who contribute to the Drought Impact Reporter.

Drought Monitor authors assess the data and use their best judgment to create the weekly drought map. Drought reports are available to the public and archived for future use.

“I encourage your participation,” Guinan said. “Nobody knows a drought and its impacts better than a person living in it does. Your local input and expertise is valued and will provide additional information for the author to consider when assessing Missouri drought conditions and categories.”

The Missouri Extension Drought Impact Reporter allows contributors to upload image files up to 10 MB in size. “Pictures are extremely helpful for map authors when assessing drought at the local level,” he said.

You can subscribe to the Drought Impact Reporter RSS feed at moderator.droughtreporter.unl.edu/rssfeed/. Add the two-letter postal abbreviation at the end of the URL to receive a feed for a specific state. For example, the feed for Missouri is at moderator.droughtreporter.unl.edu/rssfeed/MO.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency provide funds for the Drought Impact Reporter.