Alabama Drought Reach

The Alabama Drought Reach (ADR) program is working to improve drought communications and drought impact monitoring in Alabama. It is a collaborative partnership between the Auburn University Water Resources Center, the Alabama Office of the State Climatologist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. ADR also receives support from the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and the USGS Water Resources Research Institute.

REPORT DROUGHT WITH CMOR

Help us create more accurate drought maps of Alabama by reporting drought conditions with CMOR (Condition Monitoring Observer Reports). Your regular reports are vital for our work!

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This week's Alabama Drought Update

ADR Weekly Drought Graphic-89-9-5-2024 Graphic

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Launched in May 2023, ADR’s mission is to improve drought communications and agricultural impact monitoring in Alabama.

Mission:

To improve drought communications and drought agricultural impact monitoring in Alabama.

Vision:

To better document drought’s agricultural impacts in Alabama, resulting in a more informed scientific and agricultural community.

Program Objectives:

-Develop a systematic approach and monitoring program for drought agricultural impact data collection by Extension and Experiment Station personnel

-Develop and conduct drought training for Alabama Cooperative Extension System and Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station personnel

-Work alongside the Office of the State Climatologist to provide timely and relevant agricultural impact data

-Increase drought impact literacy among Alabama farmers, landowners, and the general public

For more ADR information please contact Brianne Minton at drought@auburn.edu.

WHO MONITORS DROUGHT IN ALABAMA?

Alabama Office of the State Climatologist

The Alabama Office of the State Climatologist is one of the primary agencies monitoring drought conditions in the state. They analyze various indicators including precipitation, streamflow, soil moisture, and temperature data to provide input for the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM). Additionally, the Climate Office partners with Alabama Drought Reach, a statewide communication program, to develop outreach materials that inform the public about drought conditions and their agricultural impacts.

Office of Water Resources

The Office of Water Resources (OWR) is part of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) serves as the second key drought monitoring agency in Alabama. Working closely with the Alabama Drought Assessment and Planning Team (ADAPT), the OWR receives technical input on drought conditions from the Monitoring and Impact Group (MIG) subcommittee. Using this information alongside weekly USDM maps, the OWR issues and updates drought declarations that guide local watershed managers in making critical water usage decisions during drought periods.

HOW DROUGHT IMPACTS ALABAMA AGRICULTURE

Alabama is no stranger to drought, and it has major impacts on statewide agriculture. Using data from the 2017 U.S. Census, the graphic below illustrates the significant economic impact of agriculture on Alabama’s economy.

Agriculture is one of the largest industries in Alabama, providing jobs for over 600,000 Alabamians and accounting for $70 billion of the state’s economy. Alabama Drought Reach and its partners are working to protect our farmers during times of drought.

DROUGHT RESOURCES

Alabama Drought Declarations

ADECA Office of Water Resources Alabama Drought Declarations

Drought Preparation

Row Crops

Livestock & Forages

Irrigation

Forestry

Home & Garden

Drought and Landscape: Impacts on Trees

Southeast Drought Updates

WEEKLY GRAPHICS ARCHIVE

You can find our previous graphics on weekly crop conditions and progress reports for Alabama here.

PREVIOUS DROUGHT WORK

The AUWRC, in partnership with the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), strives to better inform and prepare Alabama and the Southeast for the many challenges of periodic droughts.

The ACF River Basin Drought and Water Dashboard and ACF Drought StoryMap, collaborative projects with NOAA NIDIS, the AUWRC, and other regional partners, was launched in early 2022 in response to a request from regional stakeholders and improve the ability to view real-time information with interactive, shareable, and easy-to-understand graphics on current and predicted drought conditions.