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Partner Webinar: Flash Drought Webinar Series: Emerging Tools for Flash Drought Monitoring and Prediction

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Droughts are often categorized as ‘flash’ droughts when they develop or intensify in a matter of weeks (though defining flash droughts continues to be an area of active debate). The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) and the National Weather Service (NWS) are pleased to announce a series of three webinars to help climate professionals and operational service providers better understand this phenomenon, its defining characteristics and how it varies by region and season, its impacts on agricultural and other stakeholders, and the potential for improved monitoring, prediction, and planning/response tools (datasets, maps, etc.).

This webinar, the third in the series, will include the following presentations on emerging tools for flash drought monitoring and prediction from NOAA and other institutions:

Experimental Subseasonal Tools to Support Flash Drought Monitoring and Prediction at CPC – L. Gwen Chen, NOAA Climate Prediction Center
Upcoming Product: Week-2 Flash Drought Forecasts – Brad Pugh, NOAA Climate Prediction Center
Survey of Other Emerging Flash Drought Tools – Trent Ford, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Register here.

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Partner Webinar: Putting LANDFIRE Data (and Models) to Work in the Scientific Community

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LANDFIRE delivers 20+ vegetation and fire datasets, and a state-and-transition model for every ecosystem in the United States. Have you ever wondered how others in the scientific community use these products? Join us and find out.

Members of the LANDFIRE Team will bring you a timely, relevant and succinct webinar describing three different applications of LANDFIRE data in published scientific literature from 2021. Our talk will start with a “30K foot view” of how LANDFIRE data is (generally) used by students, academics and agencies. We will then spotlight three example scientific papers each with a unique focus on drought, fire and climate change. We will highlight general findings, and touch on the LANDFIRE datasets, applications used for each journal article.

Register here.

Papers we will discuss:
1. Drought Sensitivity and Trends of Riparian Vegetation Vigor in Nevada, USA (1985–2018) | Albano, Christina, McGwire, K.C., Hausner, M.B., McEvoy, D.J., Morton, C.G., Huntington, J.L. (LANDFIRE Existing Vegetation Type classification used) https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/9/1362
2. Yang, D., Fu, CS. Mapping regional forest management units: a road-based framework in Southeastern Coastal Plain and Piedmont. For. Ecosystems. 8, 17 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40663-021-00289-w
3. Modelling Species Distributions and Environmental Suitability Highlights Risk of Plant Invasions in Western US | McMahon, Devin, E., Urza, A.K., Brown, J.L., Phelan, C., Chambers, J.C. (LANDFIRE Reference Database used) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ddi.13232

There will be 15 minutes at the end of this discussion for Q/A.

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Virtual Workshop Recordings – Fire and Fuels Monitoring

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This virtual and field-based training was developed and hosted by the Oak Woodlands & Forests Fire Consortium, Lake States Fire Science Consortium, and the Huron-Manistee National Forests. The event was held June 1-4, 2021, and introduced participants to:

— tools for selecting metrics that match management/restoration objectives;

— developing site-specific protocols for sampling;

— developing a monitoring handbook and monitoring protocols/program for your local ecosystems;

— how to establish long-term monitoring and quantitative/qualitative data for wildfire risk assessment; and

— evaluating the need for prescribed burns and other fuels treatments.

Field measurements were conducted independently at individual attendees’ home units, and the data then analyzed in the virtual classroom setting.

Recordings of all of the workshop presentations and field measurement instructional videos can be found below, additional materials for the workshop and other related resources can be found HERE.

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NIDIS Launches New Interactive Maps on Drought.gov

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NIDIS has released two new interactive features on Drought.gov that will make it easier for decision makers and the public across the U.S. to share timely, reliable drought information.


First, new customization and sharing options for all maps make it easier than ever to create custom, high-quality maps to include in drought or risk mitigation plans, share on social media or in media briefings, communicate with stakeholders, or report on drought impacts across the United States.


Second, interactive economic sector maps including one focused on wildfire management show sector-specific information alongside key drought and climate indicators provide vital information for private and public sector decision makers to monitor, plan for, and mitigate the impacts of drought.

View the announcement here.

View the Wildfire Risk mapping tool here.

Watch a tutorial video for the mapping tools here.

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Fuel and Fire Tools Modifier Available

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For many years, people have used the FEPS 1.0 outputs as inputs to the PC versions of VSMOKE, VSMOKE-GIS, and PC HYSPLIT atmospheric dispersion models. Many prescribed burners have found these tools helpful to examine possible downwind smoke impacts when planning and implementing prescribed fires.

Recently, Bill Jackson completed a new version of the software interface (it is now 64 bit compatible) so that a person can modify Fuel & Fire Tools (FFT) input files, complete a new FFT analysis, and the FEPS output from FFT still serves as input to the three atmospheric dispersion models. The attached User’s Guide will provide you with a full description of how the new software interface, called SmokeTools, works.

If you are interested in trying SmokeTools then please email Bill at bjackson28806@gmail.com and you will receive an invite from DropBox to download two zip files that need to be unzipped to your PC. Once unzipped, then you will be able to install the software (see Appendix A in the attached manual for all of the software that needs to be installed).

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Satellite Observations and Tools for Fire Risk, Detection, and Analysis

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Fires are a growing concern, especially in regions with longer fire seasons, expanded wildland/urban interfaces, and severe and frequent droughts. Anthropogenic fires are commonly used to clear grassland and agricultural land prior to the planting season, and forests are often cleared using fires so the land can be repurposed for other uses. Whether naturally-occurring or anthropogenic, fires produce a significant change in the structure and reflectance of vegetation and soil properties and atmospheric chemistry. Remote sensing can be used to monitor pre-, during-, and post-fire conditions; including weather and climate conditions, fuel characterization, fire risk, smoke detection, monitoring, and forecasting, fire behavior, and the post-fire landscape. This 6-part, intermediate training will provide lectures and case studies focused on the use of Earth observations for operational fire monitoring: pre-, during-, and post-event.

More information and registration here.

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