How User Reports Work

Thank you for submitting information to the Drought Impact Reporter. We call this information a report. After reports are moderated, they will be visible on the reports layer of the Drought Impact Reporter. A moderator may contact you for more information.

If your report contains information that meets the Drought Impact Reporter's definition of an impact, the moderator will also record it as an impact and it will appear on the impacts layer of the Drought Impact Reporter.

We define a drought impact as an observable loss or change that occurred at a specific place and time because of drought. All impacts are based on reports.

For example, we received this user report with impact information from Eddy County, New Mexico:

The small cedar bushes are dying from lack of moisture; other native plants are showing stress. The stress has triggered Acacia (catclaw) to produce both beans and a second bloom. The rains we had have not covered much area. The cattle are now showing signs of vitamin deficiency; the lack of vitamin A is taking a toll on next year’s reproduction. The growing season is getting very short to produce a forage crop.

Here is an example of a user report that talks about a precipitation shortfall but doesn’t include impact information:

The last time Cheyenne Bottoms had more than one inch of rain was on May 24 when they got 1.84 inches. They have had a couple of smaller rains since then but it has been hot, dry and windy almost every day. Only 0.75 inches fell in July.

Here is an example of a user report that speculates about an event that would be considered an impact. It is valuable because it points to the likely occurrence of an impact and shows a high level of drought awareness, but it isn't an impact yet:

Mandatory watering restrictions will be implemented in My City, U.S.A., unless it rains a lot before Tuesday.