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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
05/30/23

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

Source(s)
Dataset Name

Acres of Crops in Drought

Update Schedule
Updates Weekly
Last Update
06/01/23

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.

This statistic includes a subset of major crops: Corn, Cotton, Hay, Haylage, Rice, Sorghum, Soybean, and Wheat. 

Data are available from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service's Agricultural Census, which is conducted every 5 years.

Source(s)
Dataset Name

People Affected by Drought

Update Schedule
Updates Weekly
Last Update
05/30/23

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

Source(s)
Dataset Name

States Experiencing Drought

Update Schedule
Updates Weekly
Last Update
06/01/23

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.

Source(s)
Map Cards
Map
Dataset Name

U.S. Drought Monitor

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
05/30/23

U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) data from the National Drought Mitigation Center were available in a GIS format. The USDM is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The map is updated weekly on Thursday mornings, with data valid through Tuesday of that week.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

The U.S. Drought Monitor map is released every Thursday morning, with data valid through Tuesday at 7 am Eastern.

Map
Dataset Name

U.S. Drought Monitor 1-Week Change Map

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
05/30/23

U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) data from the National Drought Mitigation Center were available in a GIS format. The USDM is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The map is updated weekly on Thursday mornings, with data valid through Tuesday of that week.

Current weekly U.S. Drought Monito data is compared with the previous week to identify changes.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

U.S. Drought Monitor change maps are released every Thursday morning, with data valid through Tuesday at 7 am Eastern.

Map
Dataset Name

Precipitation Conditions: Last 7 Days (gridMET, NLDAS)

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
05/30/23

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

Source(s)
Update Schedule

Precipitation data are updated daily, with a delay of 3 to 4 days to allow for data collection and quality control.

Map
Dataset Name

Precipitation 30-day % of Normal (gridMET, NLDAS)

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
05/30/23

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

Source(s)
Update Schedule

Precipitation data are updated daily, with a delay of 3 to 4 days to allow for data collection and quality control.

Map
Dataset Name

Precipitation 60-day % of Normal (gridMET, NLDAS)

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
05/30/23

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

Source(s)
Update Schedule

Precipitation data are updated daily, with a delay of 3 to 4 days to allow for data collection and quality control.

Map
Dataset Name

Temperature: 7-Day Average Maximum (gridMET, PRISM)

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
05/30/23

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.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

Temperature data are updated daily, with a delay of 3 to 4 days to allow for data collection and quality control.

Map
Dataset Name

Maximum Temperature: 7-Day Departure from Normal (gridMET, PRISM)

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
05/30/23

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.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

Temperature data are updated daily, with a delay of 3 to 4 days to allow for data collection and quality control.

Map
Dataset Name

Maximum Temperature: 30-Day Departure from Normal (gridMET, PRISM)

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
05/30/23

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.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

Temperature data are updated daily, with a delay of 3 to 4 days to allow for data collection and quality control.

Map
Dataset Name

Short-Term Multi-Indicator Drought Index (MIDI)

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
05/25/23

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 (reference period  1979–present). 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.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

The drought indices used in this map are based on the GridMET dataset and use a reference period of 1979–present. This map is updated every 5 days, with a delay of 4 to 5 days to allow for data collection and quality control.

Map
Dataset Name

Long-Term Multi-Indicator Drought Index (MIDI)

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
05/25/23

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 (reference period  1979–present). 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.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

The drought indices used in this map are based on the GridMET dataset and use a reference period of 1979–present. This map is updated every 5 days, with a delay of 4 to 5 days to allow for data collection and quality control.

Map
Dataset Name

Sub-Monthly Palmer Drought Severity Index

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
05/25/23

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.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

PDSI data are updated every 5 days, with a delay of 4 to 5 days. 

Map
Dataset Name

Evaporative Demand Drought Index: 1 Week

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
05/09/23

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 are updated daily with a 5-day lag.

EDDI is calculated from observations of the atmosphere near the land surface: temperature, humidity, windspeed, and solar radiation. EDDI doesn’t directly measure on-the-ground conditions—though EDDI values are strongly influenced by surface moisture conditions.

EDDI uses a classification scheme that is equivalent to the U.S. Drought Monitor percentile categories (D0, D1, D2, etc.).

Source(s)
Update Schedule

The Evaporative Demand Drought Index is updated daily, with a 5-day delay. This delay results from the procedures to quality control the meteorological data used to estimate evaporative demand.