Congress has reauthorized the National Integrated Drought Information System for five years. South Dakota State Climatologist Dr. Dennis Todey says the legislation has led to a Missouri River Basin pilot program.
Todey says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is the lead agency with the pilot program. He says state climatologists and regional climate officials along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and USDA are all involved in providing drought information.
Todey says they’ve met once and will be working on drought monitoring and forecasting and sharing that data across the Missouri River basin.