Understand Drought and Know How to Respond

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href="https://www.weather.gov">Weather.gov</a> > <a href="https://www.weather.gov/safety">Safety</a> > Understand Drought and Know How to Respond </div> </div> </div> <div class="div-full"> <div class="cms-content"><div class="two-third-first"> <div id="hmenu"> </div> <img alt="Drought" src="/images/safety/Drought1.png" style="width: 600px; height: 346px; margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px;" /></div> <div align="right" class="one-third-last"><a href="https://www.weather.gov/wrn/"><img alt="" src="/images/wrn/Icons/161022_wrn.png" style="width: 115px; margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;" /></a> <div style=" border-top-left-radius:10px; width: 250px; background: #1a2757; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center; border-bottom: 1px solid white;"><span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><span style="color:#FFFFFF;">Drought Resources</span></strong></span></div> <div id="id01"> </div> </div> <div class="div-full"> <p><strong>What Is Drought?</strong> Drought is a deficiency in precipitation over an extended period. It is a part of normal climate variability in many climate zones. The duration of droughts varies widely. Drought can develop quickly and last only for a matter of weeks, exacerbated by extreme heat and/or wind, but more commonly drought can persist for months or years.</p> <p>There have been at least three major U.S. droughts in the last 100 years. Two of these, the 1930s Dust Bowl drought and the 1950s drought, each lasted 5-7 seven years and covered large areas of the country with significant impacts. Although hurricanes and tornadoes are more dramatic, droughts are among the most costly weather related events and the most far reaching. From 1980–2020, there were 285 <a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/mapping">weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion</a> (CPI-Adjusted) each to affect the United States.</p> <p>Drought may require safety precautions just like other weather hazards. Dry conditions often lead to brush fires or wildfires. Local officials may ask that you not burn brush or trash during dry conditions and comply with other safety precautions. In extreme fire conditions, officials may issue mandatory evacuation orders to protect your life. Always follow these directives. They could save your lives and the life of your family.</p> <h2>Types of Drought</h2> <p><strong>Meteorological drought</strong> is based on the degree of dryness (rainfall deficit) and the length of the dry period.</p> <p><strong>Hydrologic drought</strong> is based on the impact of rainfall deficits on the water supply such as stream flow, reservoir and lake levels, and ground water table decline.</p> <p><strong>Agricultural drought</strong> is based on the impacts to agriculture by factors such as rainfall deficits, soil water deficits, reduced groundwater, or reservoir levels needed for irrigation.</p> <p><strong>Socioeconomic drought</strong> is based on the impact of drought conditions (meteorological, agricultural, or hydrological drought) on supply and demand of some economic goods. Socioeconomic drought occurs when the demand for an economic good exceeds supply as a result of a weather-related deficit in water supply.</p> <p> </p> </div> <link href="/source/safety/css/menuFd.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /><script src="/source/safety/js/menu.js"> </script><script src="/source/safety/js/droughtMenu.js"> </script><script src="/source/safety/js/droughtMenuRs.js"></script><script src="/source/safety/js/menuWrap.js"></script> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="partial-width-borderbottom feature-block">  </div> <div class="full-width-first"> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> </div>  <div class="footer"> </div>  <div class="footer-legal"> <div class="footer-legal"> <div class="footer-legal-content"> <div class="one-sixth-first" id="footer_legal_gov"> <a href="http://www.usa.gov"><img src="/bundles/templating/images/footer/usa_gov.png" alt="usa.gov" width="110" height="30" /></a> </div> <div class="one-half-first" id="footer_legal_info"> <p> <a href="http://www.commerce.gov">US Dept of Commerce</a><br /> <a href="http://www.noaa.gov">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a><br /> <a href="https://www.weather.gov">National Weather Service</a><br /> Safety<br /> 1325 East West Highway<br /> Silver Spring, MD 20910 <br /><br /> <br /><a href="mailto:wrn.feedback@noaa.gov">Comments? 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Understand Drought and Know How to Respond