Predicting droughts.

• Author: Lautenbacher, Conrad
• Position: LETTERS - Letter to the editor

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Dear Editor:

With drought exerting an impact of up to $8 billion on the U.S. economy annually-water resources, as covered in your March issue, is of great interest to us at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. As such, a collaboration between our organization, the Western Governors Association and partners at the federal, state and local levels, is supporting the National Integrated Drought Information System, or NIDIS.

This emerging resource, available online as an interactive Web portal at www.drought.gov, is a drought prediction system focused on monitoring, forecasting, risk assessment and preparedness. Our goal is to centralize essential drought information for policymakers, emergency managers, businesses and the public. The system will provide states with timely information on drought conditions to support proactive decisions that reduce economic, social and ecosystem losses. Our first pilot project targets the Colorado...