Current Soil Moisture
Soil moisture plays a key role in monitoring water availability and drought because water content within the soil profile is utilized for plant growth and discharged to streams and/or ground water if the amount of water exceeds the water holding capacity of the soil.
The High Plains Regional Climate Center operates the Automated Weather Data Network (AWDN) to monitor soil moisture at four depths for 51 sites in Nebraska. The data is widely used in agricultural activities, research and modeling.
North American Land Data Assimilation Sysyem, NOAA.
Other soil moisture resources:
- U.S. Experimental Surface Water Monitor from the University of Washington
- NLDAS Drought Monitor from Goddard Space Flight Center
- NRCS-Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN)