ABSTRACT
How does the 1987-1989 droughts compare to previous droughts in the US? Was it unprecedented, and if so, in what respects? Are droughts becoming more frequent in the US? This chapter addresses these and other questions that help us understand and place the drought in perspective. In order to place the 1987-1989 droughts in climatological perspective, a comparison of these three periods of the drought should be made to previous events. Another perspective of the 1987-1989 droughts can be obtained by calculating a national Palmer Hydrological Drought Indices using area-weighted monthly total precipitation and mean temperature values for the country as a whole. Total precipitation over the contiguous United States during the slow decay phase of the 1987-1989 droughts was near the long-term normal, again comparable to that observed in 1936-1937. As the first large-scale, persistent dry spell in roughly 30 years, the 1987-1989 drought affected many resources managers and planners who had never experienced major drought before.
