Kelsey Fitzgerald is a freelance science writer interested in stories about people and the environment in the Great Basin and Sierra Nevada. https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/contributor/kelsey-fitzgerald/rss en Climate & Weather Thu, 10 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000 Kelsey Fitzgerald https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2015/09/10/mapping-the-drought-a-surprising-mix-of-art-and-science https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2015/09/10/mapping-the-drought-a-surprising-mix-of-art-and-science The federal government’s weekly map of drought severity is an important tool to track the crisis, and an unexpectedly hands-on exercise.