Southeast Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) Partners Dialogue

SE DEWS 2022 Meeting Summary

Participant List (pdf)

PRESENTATIONS

Day 1, Introduction Session - Setting the stage: Drought in the Southeast

• A historical perspective of drought in the Southeast. Pam Knox, University of Georgia
• Exploring the 2019 drought in Georgia. Bill Murphey, Georgia State Climatologist, Georgia Department of Natural Resources
• A local perspective from Atlanta: Actions taken in previous droughts, impacts on water supply, and looking to the future. Katherine Zitsch, Managing Director of Natural Resources at Atlanta Regional Commission and Director of Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District

Day 1, SESSION 1 - Today’s Drought: Monitoring and Response

Approaches to monitoring, including how states contribute to and use the USDM

• Overview of State approaches: Who does what, what works well and why, where there may be opportunities for improvement. Kirsten Lackstrom, University of South Carolina
• North Carolina approach. Klaus Albertin, North Carolina Division of Water Resources
• Coordinating the process: Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary. William Tollefson, Tennessee Climate Office at ETSU
• USDM Author Perspectives. Brian Fuchs, National Drought Mitigation Center; David Simeral, Desert Research Institute; Adam Hartman, NWS Climate Prediction Center

Linking monitoring to decisions and response at the state and local level

• Alabama approach. Tom Littlepage, Alabama Office of Water Resources
• Georgia approach. Wei Zeng, Georgia Environmental Protection Division
• Florida approach. Mark Elsner, South Florida Water Management District

USDM Author Perspectives (pdf)

Day 1, SESSION 2 - Tomorrow’s Drought: Planning and Preparedness

Long-term Drought Planning Processes

• An Assessment of State Approaches, Planning Needs and Gaps, Constraints, and Opportunities. Kirsten Lackstrom, University of South Carolina

Preparing for the Next Drought: Incorporating drought into watershed-based planning and management

• The Catawba Wateree Water Management Group: A collaborative and collective approach to water planning and drought management. Jimmy Bagley, City of Rock Hill, South Carolina
• Virginia’s approach to water planning and incorporating climate change scenarios into state, basin, and local level planning processes. Ryan Green, Office of Water Supply, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
• Alabama’s Irrigation Watershed Planning Project: Supporting sustainable irrigation expansion through a proactive planning process. Lee Ellenberg, Alabama Office of the State Climatologist, the University of Alabama in Huntsville
• South Carolina’s water planning process: Blending top-down and bottom-up perspectives into River Basin Plans. Elliot Wickham, South Carolina State Climatology Office, SC Department of Natural Resources

Keeping Drought Plans Relevant and Useful

• South Carolina Drought Tabletop and Scenario Exercises. Elliot Wickham,South Carolina State Climatology Office, SC Department of Natural Resources

Day 1, SESSION 3 - New Developments in Drought Monitoring and Prediction

Drought and Streamflow Prediction

• CPC Drought Forecast Tools. Adam Hartman, NWS Climate Prediction Center
• Hydrologic Forecasting Tools. Todd Hamill, Southeast River Forecast Center.
• Drought.gov and Climate Engine. Meredith Muth, NIDIS

Outcomes from the 2022 SE DEWS Technical Workshops and Next Steps (pdf)

• Overview, Meredith Muth, NIDIS
• Soil Moisture. Lee Ellenburg, Alabama Office of the State Climatologist, the University of Alabama in Huntsville
• Flash Drought. Kyle Lesinger, Auburn University

Day 2, SESSION 4 - Drought Messaging and Communication

Best practices for experts to translate drought information and reach a broader audience

• North Carolina’s experience at improving drought communication. Corey Davis, State Climate Office of North Carolina
• Cross-State Perspective: ACF Drought and Water Dashboard. Mark Masters, Albany State University
• National Perspective: Drought.gov. Sylvia Reeves, NIDIS
• National Perspective: National Weather Service. Maggie Hurwitz, NWS Climate Services Branch
• Local Perspective: National Weather Service. Laura Belanger, NWS Weather Forecast Office Peachtree City, GA
• Water Conservation Perspective. Jon Becker, EPA Water Division, Region 4

Day 2, SESSION 5 - Drought Impact Reporting

Current status of Drought Impact Reporting in the Southeast

• South Carolina’s journey for Drought Impact Reporting. Elliot Wickham, SC State Climatology Office, SC Department of Natural Resources
• An Assessment of Different Approaches, Barriers, and Opportunities in the Southeast: Drought Impact Reporting Processes for the Agricultural Sector. Elijah Worley, USDA Southeast Climate Hub
• NDMC Drought Impact Toolkit, including Condition Monitoring Observer Reports. Kelly Smith, National Drought Mitigation Center
• Georgia’s 2022 experience with drought impact reporting. Pam Knox, University of Georgia

State-Level Efforts to Expand Agricultural Extension Engagement and Reporting at the State Level

• North Dakota. Elijah Worley, USDA SE Climate Hub, on behalf of ND
• Kentucky. Chip Zimmer, Kentucky Division of Water
• Mississippi. Michael Brown, MS State Climatologist, MS State University
• Alabama. Kent Stanford and Rachel McGuire, Auburn University