Soil moisture, snowpack data could help predict 'flash droughts'

The “flash drought” that unexpectedly gripped the U.S. Southern Rockies and Midwest in the summer of 2012 could have been predicted months in advance using soil moisture and snowpack data, according to new research.

Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) analyzed the conditions leading to the 2012 drought — which resulted in $30 billion in economic losses — looking for any warning signs that a drought was on the way.

In a study funded by the …