What are drought starts?

A drought start is when a place goes from having enough water to not having enough, like when your favorite snack runs out just as you're about to eat it.

Imagine you have a big bowl of cereal every morning, and you always have enough to eat. But one day, the bowl has less cereal than usual, and the next day even less. That’s kind of like a drought start, when things begin to get dry because there's not as much water as before.

Think of it like a water bottle that you drink from every day. When it's full, you have plenty to drink. But if you keep drinking from it and don’t refill it, eventually it gets lower and lower. That’s the start of a drought, when things begin to change and not enough water is available anymore.

Sometimes, people don't notice at first, but over time, they realize something's different, like realizing your cereal bowl is getting emptier every day!