On each Thursday, the CPC, together with the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, and NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, issues a weekly drought assessment called the United States Drought Monitor. The Monitor provides a consolidated depiction of national drought conditions based on a combination of drought indicators and field reports. The CPC issues the U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook each month in conjunction with the release of the long-lead temperature and precipitation outlooks on the third Thursday of each month. Updates to the U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook are issued the first Thursday of each month.

Behind The Assessment