The Ogallala Aquifer has supported agricultural needs in multiple states for decades, but the aquifer is being drained faster than it is being replenished.
Impacts of global warming on Great Plains summer rainfall and vegetation are biggest unknowns.
At the end of April 2015, almost 60 percent of Oklahoma was experiencing moderate to exceptional drought, and 30 percent of Texas was experiencing drought conditions. But according to the May drought outlook, conditions are likely to improve in the southern Plains this month.
A plant is a sophisticated climate-observing device. These satellite maps of the central and southern Great Plains during the week of April 8, 2012, and 2013 show how plants in the heart of the U.S. winter wheat croplands "measured" dramatically different climate conditions this spring than last.
The interim director of NOAA's High Plains Regional Climate Center talks about partnering with tribes on the Wind River Indian Reservation to develop new tools and resources for coping with drought.