Martha Anderson¹, Feng Gao², Christopher Hain³, Yun Yang⁴, Jie Xue⁵, Kyle Knipper⁶, William P Kustas⁷ and Joseph G Alfieri⁷, (1)USDA ARS Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory, Beltsville, MD, United States, (2)USDA-Agricultural Research Service Beltsville, Hydrology and Remote Sensing, Beltsville, MD, United States, (3)National Integrated Drought Information System, Boulder, CO, United States, (4)University of Maryland College Park, ESSIC, College Park, MD, United States, (5)USDA-ARS Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory, Beltsville, MD, United States, (6)USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, MD, United States, (7)U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory, Beltsville, MD, United States