Western U.S. Drought: How Bad is it?

Authors

Thomas C. Piechota, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Hugo G. Hidalgo, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Janak Timilsena, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Glenn A. Tootle, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-10-2004

Publication Title

EOS Transactions

Volume

85

Issue

32

Abstract

Historical stream flow records and the forecast for 2004 make the current (lpar;1999–2004) drought in the southwestern United States the worst one in the past 80 years for portions of the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB). For the Colorado River (near Cisco, Utah), the cumulative stream flow deficit (departure from long term mean) for the current drought is almost 11 km3, or approximately 2 years of average stream flow. Although the current drought is the most significant, based on stream flow records, is it the worst ever?

Keywords

Colorado River Basin; Drought severity; Hydroclimatology; Southwestern United States; Streamflow

Disciplines

Climate | Environmental Sciences | Fresh Water Studies | Meteorology

Language

English

Comments

Presented at: CA-NV-American Water Works Association (AWWA) 2004 Annual Fall Conference, October 11-15, 2004, Sacramento, California

Repository Citation

Piechota, T. C., Hidalgo, H. G., Timilsena, J., Tootle, G. A. (2004). Western U.S. Drought: How Bad is it?. EOS Transactions, 85(32),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2004EO320002