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One meteorologist has criticized the drought map used in this article as making things look bad in Washington state when they are not: https://cliffmass.blogsp

One meteorologist has criticized the drought map used in this article as making things look bad in Washington state when they are not: https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2022/04/is-large-portion-of-washington-state-in.html https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2022/04/is-large-portion-of-w... > The essential message is that weather and climate data do not support the claims of extreme or severe drought in eastern Washington this year. > There is no expectation of water problems over or near the Columbia Basin. The Drought Monitor graphics, which are created subjectively, are sufficiently problematic and deficient that they should not be considered or applied to any serious decision making.

hyperrail 4y ago
This seems to be what he is referring to by the map's subjectivity: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/About/WhatistheUSDM.aspx https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/About/WhatistheUSDM.aspx > Who draws the map? > Several authors from the NDMC, NOAA and USDA create the map. They take turns, usually two weeks at a time. > How do they figure out where and how bad drought is? > This is what makes the U.S. Drought Monitor unique. It is not a statistical model, although numeric inputs are many: [...]