Michael J. Hayes
Hi, I'm Mike Hayes, climate impacts specialist for the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) and associate professor in the School of Natural Resources.
Since coming to UNL in 1995, I have been mostly associated with the applied climate sciences and human dimensions program areas and work in outreach and extension.
My main research interests are precipitation indices, drought mitigation, drought impacts, drought vulnerability, risk analyses and remote sensing. One project I have been working on recently is trying to quantify drought impacts across Nebraska and around the country. The nation has experienced severe droughts since 2000, but we have only a sketchy idea of the local or national economic impact of those droughts. Without this information, it is very difficult for officials to understand the need to respond effectively to drought events.
The NDMC has given drought workshops around the country and the world. The objective is to educate officials about the seriousness of drought and assist in reducing future drought impacts. I am currently working with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to help Native American nations in the southwestern United States develop drought plans, and I'll help organize a drought workshop for tribes in the Southwest that will take place in Flagstaff, Ariz., in June 2004.
Even without precise figures, my work reveals that economic losses related to drought totaled about $11 billion across 10 states during 2002. Losses due to drought far exceed those of any other natural hazard, including floods, hurricanes or tornadoes. If the NDMC can help state officials and other decision makers plan for drought and reduce drought risk, we can reduce the losses and suffering associated with droughts, in this country and around the world.
I received a bachelor's from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Meteorology and my master's and doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia in Atmospheric Sciences.
Personnel Information
| Name | Mike J. Hayes |
| University Title | Associate Professor |
| Address | 819 Hardin Hall, Lincoln NE 68583-0988 |
| Affiliation (index) | NDMC |
| Phone | 402-472-4271 |
| Fax | 402-472-2946 |
| mhayes2@unl.edu | |
| Related Websites | http://drought.unl.edu http://drought.unl.edu/dm |
Go to Mike's Full Profile
Key Publications
(These are three key publications. The first one introduces the weekly Drought Monitor product to the scientific community. A national map of drought conditions updated weekly, the Drought Monitor was first issued in August 1999 at a White House briefing. I am one of eight Drought Monitor authors. The second publication describes the drought planning methodologies that the NDMC promotes. The third introduces the Standardized Precipitation Index to the scientific community. The SPI is now a standard drought monitoring tool used by many officials and scientists.)
- Svoboda, M., D. LeComte, M. Hayes, R. Heim, K. Gleason, J. Angel, B. Rippey, R. Tinker, M. Palecki, D. Stooksbury, D. Miskus, and S. Stevens, 2002. An introduction to the Drought Monitor. The Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 83(8): 1181-1190.
- Wilhite, D. A., M. Hayes, C. Knutson, and K. H. Smith, 2000. Planning for drought: Moving from crisis to risk management. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 36(4): 697-710.
- Hayes, M., D. Wilhite, M. Svoboda, and O. Vanyarkho, 1999. Monitoring the 1996 drought using the Standardized Precipitation Index. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 80(3): 429-438.
