899 OCTOBER 2020 AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY | M any regions in Africa and the Middle East are vulnerable to water and food insecurity—a motivation for the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) and other drought warning eforts. These warnings guide life-saving assistance to millions of people each year. Since 2015, scientists at several U.S. universities and govern- mental agencies, along with others internationally, have part- nered with FEWS NET to develop the NASA hydrological forecast and analysis system (NHyFAS). This new, multi-land surface model (LSM) ensemble approach to seasonal forecasting is set up specifcally for continental Africa and the Middle East and yields more skillful soil moisture, streamfow, and drought detection than a single-model approach. NHyFAS seasonal-scale hydrologic forecasts extend the lead time of drought warnings beyond what routine hydrologic monitoring can provide. NHyFAS supports cli- mate seasonal forecast datasets and also subseasonal forecasts. FEWS NET regional scientists have been using the seasonal hydrological forecasts since August 2018. In turn the regional sci- entists provide feedback that can help improve NHyFAS. The part- nership with FEWS NET helps operationalize monitoring schemes for food, water, and energy security. The system also benefts from strong collaboration with end users in Africa and the Middle East, who help with the formulation and communication of early warn- ing indicators to water and food security communities. Mean- while, NHyFAS enhances FEWS NET’s early warning capabilities by enabling regional experts to visualize the potential hydrologic impacts of forecasted precipitation. Adapted from “The NASA Hydro- logical Forecast System for Food and Water Security Applications,“ by Kristi R. Arsenault (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), Shraddhanand Shukla, Abheera Hazra, Augusto Getirana, Amy McNally, Sujay V. Kumar, Randal D. Koster, Christa D. Peters-Lidard, Benjamin F. Zaitchik, Hamada Badr, Hahn Chul Jung, Bala Narapusetty, Mahdi Navari, Shugong Wang, David M. Mocko, Chris Funk, Laura Harrison, Gregory J. Husak, Alkhalil Adoum, Gideon Galu, Tamuka Magadzire, Jeanne Roningen, Michael Shaw, John Eylander, Karim Bergaoui, Rachael A. McDonnell, and James P. Verdin. Published online in BAMS, July 2020. For the full, citable article, see DOI:10.1175 /BAMS-D-18-0264.1. Better Advance Warnings of Drought A New NASA Hydrological Forecast System Unauthenticated | Downloaded 11/06/21 02:04 PM UTC