CHANGING TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MIDWESTERN HYDROLOGIC DROUGHTS

Abstract

Hydroclimatic parameters were examined to identify spatial variability among 19 Midwestern basins during the 1950–1990 period. The magnitude of annual streamflow variability values increased westward across the Midwest and appeared to be associated with a similar pattern in annual precipitation variability. Basin seasonal streamflow values were analyzed to determine the occurrence of hydrologic drought. A criterion that combined duration and severity of low-flow characteristics was used to determine hydrologic droughts. Sixteen of the 19 basins experienced between one and four hydrologic droughts, whereas 3 experienced none. The temporal distribution and spatial extent of the 45 hydrologic droughts indicated that there were two classifications of Midwestern hydrologic drought during this period. The first type–“long-term” hydrologic drought–occurred over: (1) a period of 12 or more consecutive seasons and (2) a broad latitudinal belt across the Midwest. Long-term hydrologic droughts occurred during the period from the early 1950s through the late 1960s. Since 1970, hydrologic droughts can be described as “short-term” and are characterized as having occurred over: (1) periods generally less than two years and (2) a smaller region. This information could assist hydrologists and water managers in understanding the more precise nature of temporal and spatial differences that exist in Midwestern hydrologic drought. [Key words: hydrologic drought, hydroclimatic variability, Midwest United States.]