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National Current Conditions

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The Drought.gov team reformats data from multiple partners into web- and GIS-ready formats, which we use throughout Drought.gov. These data, hosted on Google Cloud Storage, are free for all to download or reference directly from their web applications.

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Statistics
Dataset Name
Percentage of the U.S. in Drought
Update Schedule
Updates Weekly
Last Update
01/24/23
Source(s)

Drought area percentages were ingested using U.S. Drought Monitor web services.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Acres of Crops in Drought
Update Schedule
Updates Weekly
Last Update
01/26/23
Source(s)

GIS was used to identify which agricultural producing counties contained drought according to the U.S. Drought Monitor (D1 - D4). Acres were aggregated to identify the number of crop acres in drought.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
People Affected by Drought
Update Schedule
Updates Weekly
Last Update
01/24/23
Source(s)

Drought population percentages were ingested using U.S. Drought Monitor web services.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
States Experiencing Drought
Update Schedule
Updates Weekly
Last Update
01/26/23
Source(s)

State-level U.S. Drought Monitor drought data were used to identify the number of states in (D1-D4) drought. Current weekly values are compared to the previous week and month to identify changes.

Dataset Links
Map Cards
Dataset Name
U.S. Drought Monitor
Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
01/24/23
Source(s)

U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) data from the National Drought Mitigation Center were available in a GIS format.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
U.S. Drought Monitor Change Map
Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
01/24/23
Source(s)

Current weekly U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) data is compared with the previous week to identify changes.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Precipitation Conditions: Last 7 Days (gridMET, NLDAS)
Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
01/23/23
Source(s)

The gridMET and NLDAS precipitation datasets from Climate Engine were available in raster format. Precipitation data updates daily but is delayed from the current day by 3 to 4 days to allow for data collection and quality control.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Precipitation 30-day % of Normal (gridMET, NLDAS)
Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
01/23/23
Source(s)

Precipitation data from Climate Engine were available in raster format.  Precipitation data updates daily but is delayed from the current day by 3 to 4 days to allow for data collection and quality control.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Precipitation 60-Day % of Normal (gridMET, NLDAS)
Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
01/23/23
Source(s)

Precipitation data from Climate Engine were available in raster format. Precipitation data updates daily but is delayed from the current day by 3 to 4 days to allow for data collection and quality control.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Temperature: 7-Day Average Maximum (gridMET, PRISM)
Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
01/23/23
Source(s)

The gridMET and PRISM temperature datasets from Climate Engine were available in raster format. Temperature data are updated daily, with a delay of 3 to 4 days to allow for data collection and quality control.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Maximum Temperature: 7-Day Departure from Normal (gridMET, PRISM)
Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
01/23/23
Source(s)

The gridMET and PRISM temperature datasets from Climate Engine were available in raster format. Temperature data are updated daily, with a delay of 3 to 4 days to allow for data collection and quality control.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Maximum Temperature: 30-Day Departure from Normal (gridMET, PRISM)
Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
01/23/23
Source(s)

The gridMET and PRISM temperature datasets from Climate Engine were available in raster format. Temperature data are updated daily, with a delay of 3 to 4 days to allow for data collection and quality control.

Dataset Links
Map

Short-Term MIDI (Albers)

Dataset Name
Short-Term Multi-Indicator Drought Index (MIDI)
Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
01/20/23
Source(s)

The Short-Term Multi-Indicator Drought Index (MIDI) is an experimental blended product. It looks at current drought conditions across the U.S. by integrating several key short-term drought indices into one objective, computer-generated map. MIDI data were from Climate Engine were available in raster format. 

This product is based on methodology from the NOAA National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center. The short-term and long-term MIDIs are created using the Climate Engine tool, and apply Climate Prediction Center weighting ratios to the high-resolution gridMET gridded research dataset. The data are updated every 5 days, with a delay of 4 to 5 days to allow for data collection and quality control.

The short-term MIDI combines the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), Palmer Z-Index, 1-month Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), and 3-month SPI to approximate drought impacts from changes in precipitation and moisture over a short-term timeframe. This product is an example of current NIDIS-funded research. Learn more.

 

Dataset Links
Map

Long-Term MIDI (Albers)

Dataset Name
Long-Term Multi-Indicator Drought Index (MIDI)
Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
01/20/23
Source(s)

The Long-Term Multi-Indicator Drought Index (MIDI) is an experimental blended product. It looks at current drought conditions across the U.S. by integrating several key long-term drought indices into one objective, computer-generated map. MIDI data were from Climate Engine were available in raster format. 

This product is based on methodology from the NOAA National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center. The short-term and long-term MIDIs are created using the Climate Engine tool, and apply Climate Prediction Center weighting ratios to the high-resolution gridMET gridded research dataset. The data are updated every 5 days, with a delay of 4 to 5 days to allow for data collection and quality control.

The long-term MIDI combines the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), Palmer Z-Index, 180-day Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), 1-year SPI, 2-year SPI, and 5-year SPI to approximate drought impacts from changes in precipitation and moisture over a long-term timeframe. This product uses the same percentile category ranges as the U.S. Drought Monitor.

This product is an example of current NIDIS-funded research. Learn more.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Palmer Drought Severity Index
Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
01/20/23
Source(s)

Palmer data from Climate Engine were available in raster format. This new experimental implementation of the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) updates every 5 days, with a delay of 4 to 5 days, using the high-resolution gridMET gridded research dataset and USDA STATSGO soils data.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Evaporative Demand Drought Index: 1 Week
Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
01/21/23
Source(s)

EDDI data from NOAA's Physical Sciences Laboratory (PSL) were available in ACSII format. The ASCII data was ingested and converted raster data using GIS. EDDI data is updated daily. 

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Evaporative Demand Drought Index: 1 Month
Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
01/21/23
Source(s)

EDDI data from NOAA's Physical Sciences Laboratory (PSL) were available in ACSII format. The ASCII data was ingested and converted raster data using GIS. EDDI data is updated daily. 

Dataset Links