Keeping tabs on drought impacts for the National Drought Mitigation Center for 10+ years. Views are mine. Be kind.
Mastodon: @[email protected]
DeniseG
Drought watch issued for region by COG.
Despite some May rain, deficits remain: -4.3" YTD, -12"+ over 12 months. 10 of last 12 months below avg. Potomac hit record low this spring. DC still in severe drought.
No current issues but water conservation urged. www.mwcog.org/newsroom/202...
El Nino forms, expected to strengthen, say NOAA forecasters
El Niño conditions are present and expected to strengthen into the Northern Hemisphere winter 2026-27.
#ElNino #ENSO 🧪
www.noaa.gov/news-release...
The last time Lake Powell was this low in early June was in 1967.
Lyndon Johnson was president. Glen Canyon Dam had been commissioned just the year before. We hadn't even been to the moon yet.
Popular eastern Arizona lake closes after all the fish die
San Carlos Lake is closed until further notice due to #drought and water releases from a nearby dam that resulted in a “major fish kill affecting approximately 100% of the fish population within the lake."
www.azfamily.com/2026/06/05/p...
The US Drought Monitor showed considerable improvement in the Southeast, South and High Plains, and Southeast and some development in the Midwest and intensification in the West. Drought covers 58.38% of the contiguous US, a drop of 2.39 points.
#drought 🧪
droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/S...
The Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI) shows intense vegetation stress due to drought in the Southeast, parts of the High Plains, and to a lesser extent in other parts of the US.
#VegDRI #drought #vegetation 🧪
vegdri.unl.edu/Home.aspx
Majority of US’s new AI datacenters to be built on drought-hit land
About two-thirds of upcoming datacenters, which typically require a large amount of water to operate, are to be built in places that have been among the driest in the country over the past year.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Unease trickles into the Grand Canyon rafting community as water levels dwindle
The Colorado River is unusually low, affecting river recreation. It leaves many who rely on the river feeling uncertain and wondering about the future.
#ColoradoRiver #drought
www.knau.org/knau-and-ari...
What happens when the world’s breadbaskets start failing simultaneously?
Multiple breadbasket failures are becoming more likely as climate change increases the chance of simultaneous stress across major producing regions.
#ClimateChange #food #drought
theconversation.com/what-happens...
Drought Leads to Long Recovery for Bumble Bees
Researchers at North Dakota State University evaluated how populations of bumble bees in the Prairie Pothole Region bottomed out during an extreme drought in 2021 and had not fully recovered in 2024.
#drought #bee 🧪
entomologytoday.org/2026/06/03/r...
Capital Weather
DeniseG
A popular lake southeast of Globe is closed until further notice after officials say every fish died.
Guardian analysis finds facilities to be built in some of the driest areas as outcry grows over water needed to power AI
www.theguardian.com
Releases from Glen Canyon Dam into the Colorado River are low. But if they fall much more, commercial river rafters worry it could change their livelihoods and the nature of boating in the Grand Canyo...
The modern food system was built on the expectation that geography would spread out the risks from droughts and floods. Climate change is testing all of that at once.
A severe drought in North Dakota in 2021 slashed bumble bee populations by 98%, and recovery has lagged for years, a new study shows. Researchers say the findings highlight that climate-driven drought...
