The Challenges of Defining and Communicating Drought in the Pacific Northwest

Although the Pacific Northwest is usually thought of as an area with abundant water resources, droughts in 1976-77, 1987-89; and 2000-2001 had major effects on the region, largely through reduction in hydropower generation and reduced availability of irrigation water. Additionally, drought is an increasing concern of public land managers in Oregon and Washington; it is a driver of vegetation on both rangelands and forested land.

In Oregon, 2013-2014 is off to the second driest start to the water year on record and fears about resource management in the coming summer are mounting. Resource managers are asking questions about how to appropriately define the beginning and end of drought. We will cover considerations and metrics for defining drought in Oregon and Washington. Given the relative infrequence of these events in the stereotypically wet Pacific Northwest, we will discuss communication challenges and techniques for connecting the science with the on the ground users.