Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental SciencesCooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder
A PSL team, 2012 drought assessment
CIRES scientists in ESRL’s Physical Sciences Laboratory, were part of a NOAA team honored with a DOC Silver Medal for an outstanding scientific assessment of the origins of the 2012 Central Great Plains Drought. Precipitation deficits in May to August 2012 were the most extreme since official measurements began in 1895, eclipsing the driest summers of 1934 and 1936 that occurred at the height of the Dust Bowl. By early September, nearly half the contiguous United States was experiencing unprecedented severe drought that official seasonal forecasts in April 2012 did not anticipate. The assessment of causes has helped to identify pathways for improved predictions of future drought events.