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2025 Hazard Mitigation Plan <br />Kittitas County, Washington <br /> <br /> <br />Chapter 4: Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment 96 <br />4.6.3. Drought <br />4.6.3.1. Description <br />Drought can be difficult to define. Some definitions are an idea or concept which can be important in <br />establishing drought policy, and others can be operational. Operational drought definitions describe how <br />drought functions or operates in a way that can be measured. Per Washington State Statue 43.83B, <br />drought conditions mean that the water supply for a geographic area, or for a significant portion of a <br />geographic area, is below 75% of normal and the water shortage is likely to create undue hardships for <br />water users and/or the environment.97F <br />97 The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) <br />defines drought as the deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time (usually a season or <br />more), resulting in a water shortage.98F <br />98 The NWS defines drought as a deficiency of moisture that results <br />in adverse impacts on people, animals, or vegetation over a sizeable area.99F <br />99 <br /> <br />Drought is part of the climate cycle, and it is an underestimated slow-moving hazard that can cause as <br />much damage as other faster-moving hazards (e.g., hurricanes, flooding). Drought can impact <br />agriculture, public health, transportation, ecosystems, wildfire, and water quality. In order to assist with <br />drought classification and monitoring, scientists have defined five (5) types of droughts, listed on Table <br />4-40.100F <br />100 <br />Table 4-40. Types of Drought <br />Type Description <br />Meteorological Occurs when dry weather patterns dominate the area. <br />Hydrological Occurs when low water supply becomes evident in the water system <br />Agricultural Occurs when crops become affected by drought. <br />Socioeconomic Occurs when the supply and demand of various commodities is affected by drought. <br />Ecological Occurs when natural ecosystems are affected by drought. <br /> <br />A drought’s severity depends on numerous factors, including duration, intensity, and geographic extent, <br />as well as regional water supply demands by humans and vegetation. Drought differs from other natural <br />hazards in three (3) ways. <br /> <br />• The onset and end of a drought are difficult to determine due to the slow accumulation and <br />lingering effects of an event after its apparent end. <br />• The lack of an exact and universally accepted definition adds to the confusion about its existence <br />and severity. <br /> <br />97 Washington State Legislature. (n.d.). Revised Code of Washington, Title 43, Chapter 43.83B. Retrieved from <br />https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.83B. <br />98 National Integrated Drought Information System. (2023). What is a Drought? Drought Basics. Retrieved from <br />https://www.drought.gov/what-is-drought/drought-basics. <br />99 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service. (2009). National Weather Service <br />Glossary. Retrieved from https://w1.weather.gov/glossary/. <br />100 National Integrated Drought Information System. (2023). What is a Drought? Drought Basics. Retrieved from <br />https://www.drought.gov/what-is-drought/drought-basics.