18 Nebraskaland • August-September 2020
IN THE FIELD
A prolonged lack of water, low reservoirs and streamflows,
parched landscape and burnt crops — something that
Nebraskans are quite familiar with. If I were to ask you to tell
me your definition of drought and how it affects you, I bet I
would get as many different answers as there are magazine
subscribers. Drought is often termed an enigma, which
was actually coined as such by a prominent University of
Nebraska-Lincoln scientist. Why so? Unlike most other
natural hazards we experience, drought is difficult to define,
monitor, assess when it exactly begins and ends, and often
(but not always) creeps into an area with a slow onset. As
such, there are several types of drought — meteorological
(lack of adequate precipitation), hydrological (low water
supplies), agricultural (crop failures), socioeconomic
(demand greater than supply), and a new category, ecological
(stressed ecosystems). Drought is a normal part of our
climate and these dry periods stand out in our climate record.
The most prominent of course is the Dust Bowl of the 1930s,
which in itself is a complex study in the interaction of
dryness, extreme heat and poor land management practices.
Most recently in Nebraska was the 2012 drought, which was
the warmest and driest year on record. One familiar way
we assess drought in the U.S. is the Drought Monitor (also
established at UNL), that has provided a weekly snapshot of
conditions for the last two decades. This monitor is in part
driven by local reports — impacts felt by those on the ground
and close to the "action." These impacts, much like the
definition, are also complex and oftentimes interconnected
— increased fire danger, low lake levels, competition for
water, water restrictions, habitat changes or even loss.
Water is one of our keystone natural resources, the lifeblood
pumping through the heart of the Plains. While drought is
inevitable, it gives us pause to appreciate return of the rains.
Martha D. Shulski, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is
the director of the Nebraska State Climate Office.
By Martha D. Shulski
DROUGHT
YOUNG
CORN
GROWING
IN
DRY
ENVIRONMENT,
GETTY
