Flash drought can develop quickly, sometimes transforming relatively normal conditions into significant drought in just a few weeks. That rapid development makes flash drought detection particularly challenging in the Southeastern United States, where frequent rainfall can be followed by short periods of intense heat and little precipitation.
A new study examined flash drought risk across the Southeast from 2001–2023 and how the timing of these events overlaps with periods when major crops are most sensitive to water stress. Researchers compared four approaches for identifying flash drought: the Soil Moisture Volatility Index, Evaporative Stress Index, Lawn and Garden Moisture Index, and rapid changes in the U.S. Drought Monitor. Although the methods differed in how frequently they identified flash drought, they showed several common patterns. Flash drought occurred somewhere in the Southeast every year during the study period, and events were most common in early summer and again in the fall.
Source : noaa.gov