what constitutes a drought-definitions

[johnholmes]

For the record, an absolute drought is a period of 15 consecutive days none of which records more than 0.1 mm of rain

A partial drought is a period of at least 29 days over which the mean daily rainfall does not exceed 0.2 mm; therefore a period of 29 days with a total rainfall of 5.8 mm would constitute a partial drought but 6.0 mm over the same period wouldn't.

A dry spell is a period of at least 15 consecutive days none of which records more than 0.9 mm of rain.