Great Plains droughts

Great Plains droughts
Name	Great Plains droughts
Region	Great Plains
Countries	United States, Canada
States provinces	Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba
Period	Holocene to present
Causes	El Niño–Southern Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, anthropogenic climate change

Contents

Great Plains droughts Great Plains droughts are recurrent, large-scale episodes of below-average precipitation and soil moisture across the Great Plains region of North America. These events have shaped the environmental, economic, and cultural development of Indigenous peoples, settler societies, and modern states such as United States and Canada. Historic episodes—most notably the Dust Bowl of the 1930s—intersect with patterns like El Niño–Southern Oscillation and long-term trends investigated by institutions including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and university research centers.

Overview and definition

Drought in the Great Plains is defined by sustained deficits in precipitation, streamflow, groundwater, and soil moisture across the Great Plains province, measured using indices such as the Palmer Drought Severity Index, Standardized Precipitation Index, and soil moisture anomaly products developed at National Weather Service and academic centers like University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Texas A&M University, and University of Oklahoma. Key hydroclimatic elements include reduced Missouri River and Arkansas River runoff, low stages on the Ogallala Aquifer, and increased frequency of wildfires documented by agencies such as the United States Forest Service and Natural Resources Canada.

Prominent episodes include the Dust Bowl (1930s), the 1950s drought concurrent with the postwar agricultural expansion, the 1988–1989 North American drought impacting Great Lakes and Missouri River basins, and the 2011–2012 drought linked to heat waves across Texas and Oklahoma. Paleo-records from tree-ring chronology studies by researchers at University of Arizona, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, and NOAA Paleoclimatology Program reveal megadroughts during the Medieval Warm Period associated with reduced moisture in the Rio Grande and Canadian Prairies. Responses included migration to cities such as Oklahoma City and Amarillo, relief efforts by organizations like the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Red Cross, policy interventions under the New Deal and programs administered by the United States Department of Agriculture.

Drivers combine ocean–atmosphere teleconnections including El Niño–Southern Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, alongside land-surface feedbacks such as reduced evapotranspiration documented by researchers at Princeton University and Colorado State University. Anthropogenic climate change attributed to greenhouse forcing studied by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and regional climate models at National Center for Atmospheric Research and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory modifies drought frequency and severity. Atmospheric circulation features like persistent ridging and jet stream anomalies observed in NOAA reanalysis, blocking patterns analyzed by European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, and stratospheric influences studied at NASA have been implicated in prolonged dry spells.

Droughts reduce yields of staple crops grown in the Plains such as corn, wheat, soybean, and sorghum—enterprises often financed through programs run by the Farm Service Agency and insured via the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. Rangeland degradation and dust storms affect bison habitat recovery projects, prairie ecosystems studied by the Smithsonian Institution and Nature Conservancy, and migratory bird corridors recognized by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Societal impacts include rural depopulation, increased urban demand on water suppliers like Denver Water and Dallas Water Utilities, legal disputes over interstate compacts including the Republican River Compact and Colorado River Compact, and public health stresses tracked by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Responses combine structural measures—reservoirs on the Missouri River and irrigation infrastructure managed by the Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—with nonstructural policies such as water markets explored in studies at Harvard University and University of California, Berkeley. Groundwater management reforms target the Ogallala Aquifer through state agencies like the Texas Water Development Board and conservation districts in Nebraska. Agricultural adaptation includes drought-tolerant cultivars developed by United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service and genetic programs at Iowa State University, conservation practices promoted by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and economic relief administered via the Commodity Credit Corporation.

Operational monitoring uses networks such as the National Integrated Drought Information System, U.S. Drought Monitor, and satellite systems including Landsat, MODIS, and GRACE gravimetry missions from Jet Propulsion Laboratory and European Space Agency to estimate soil moisture and groundwater anomalies. Predictive efforts employ dynamical models at the National Center for Environmental Prediction, statistical approaches from Columbia University climate scientists, and machine-learning work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Interdisciplinary research collaborations involve Smithsonian Institution, Environmental Protection Agency, and regional universities to improve seasonal forecasts, resilience planning, and transboundary water governance under instruments such as the North American Free Trade Agreement era frameworks and bilateral Canada–US initiatives.

Category:Climate of the United States Category:Climate of Canada Category:Droughts