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Officials prepare for impacts of future droughts

USDA’s meteorologist says experts are meeting this week in D.C. to explore how to address future drought challenges.

“We know it’s going to happen; we don’t know when or where, but drought will happen.”  

Brad Rippey says droughts have been trending down over the past decade but the U.S. hasn’t been drought-free, “Including the California multi-year drought, the Northern Plains drought of 2017, and even now as we approach historic lows for drought coverage we still have drought to talk about—the Pacific Northwest, we have some long-term drought in the Southwest and even Alaska presently has some of the most severe drought in the nation,” he says.

Experts last met in 2012 after historic drought that year cost the U.S. at least $40 billion, mostly in ag losses.