This study is intended to examine the past drought and predict
future drought scenarios for Arkansas-Red River Basin with
comprehensive drought indices ranging from meteorology, hydro-
meteorology to hydrology. In this proceeding, we present some
early results and analysis with the Standardized Precipitation
Index (SPI) and the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI).
Historical climate data within the 1900-2009 timeframe were
archived to derive the drought indices calculations. The
projected A2, A1B climate data modules from 16 statistically
downscaled Global Climate Models (GCM) were applied in drought
occurrence frequency and affected area prediction. The results
from the SPI and PDSI show that widespread drought took place in
the 1910s, 1930s, 1950s and 1960s, which agrees with the
historical climate record. Both the SPI and PDSI indicate more
frequent droughts in the second part of the 21st century, but
predictions from the two indices were carried out under
different scenarios. The two indices describe futu