The major objective of this study is to compare cloudiness and various measures of air temperature with drought intensity to determine the variables that most effectively identify the temperature/drought relationship. The general geographic pattern of the relationships and the differences between summer (July) and winter (January) relationships are also investigated. Drought intensity is represented by three Palmer drought indices, which represent a range of response times to current precipitation. Data for 1935-1985 were collected for cities in twelve climatic divisions that represent most of the Koeppen climatic types found in the contiguous United States. Generally, mean monthly maximum temperature is more highly correlated with drought intensity than mean monthly temperature. Current soil moisture (Z-index) is most highly correlated with high temperature, not total monthly precipitation. Winter drought shows higher correlations with clear skies than any measure of air temperature. in summer, the plains and southeastern regions of the United States have the strongest relationship between high temperature and drought intensity.
