Drought in the U.S. Great Plains (1980-2012): A sensitivity study using different methods for estimating potential evapotranspiration in the Palmer Drought Severity Index

The Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) has been widely used to evaluate drought conditions since it was developed in 1965. In the original formulation of the PDSI, potential evapotranspiration (PET) was estimated using the Thornthwaite equation. This study evaluates how using more physically based approaches for estimating PET influences the depiction of drought conditions over the U.S. Great Plains from 1980 to 2012. Both the Penman‐Monteith...