Yeah, but if all you have is shallow moisture but low deep aquifers/hydrological moisture, it wouldn't take much to get pushed back into dire circumstances. Seems to me the new system would better reflect the near-term, not just the now.
That's why the NWS also has a product called the hydrologic outlook. Drought is the hip catchy word, so my theory is they wanted more of the US in drought condition permanently because it's much easier for people to digest.
The Ogallala water level is so low it would take 6000 years to replenish, does that mean we call all of western KS and northern TX in 'drought' because of that? Of course not.
TX getting donkey punched again tonight, hope everybody makes it through ok. Good news is that one of the last remaining dry spots in TX is getting nice rainfall, San Angelo over to Midland/Odessa, and the upper Colorado basin. By weekend the weather pattern will change and TX will dry out, at least for 4-5 days.