2024-2025 Mid-Atlantic Drought Assessment: Building Drought Early Warning Capacity and Resilience

Drought has occurred frequently in the Mid-Atlantic states over the past century. Major droughts occurred in the 1930s, 1940s, 1960s, and 1980s, with several lasting for more than a year. In 2024, heat and a lack of rainfall led to widespread drought across Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. For some locations, the 2024 drought was the worst the region had experienced in more than two decades. The region felt significant impacts across both natural and managed landscapes, and in multiple sectors including agriculture, mining, public health, and water utilities.

In response to these conditions and impacts, NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), Northeast Regional Climate Center (NRCC), and NOAA’s Regional Climate Services Eastern Region held a special drought webinar in September 2024 to deliver timely, relevant drought information and resources to decision-makers across West Virginia and Ohio, and surrounding states in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic.NIDIS, and NRCC hosted a series of virtual meetings in March-April 2025 with approximately 140 participants from state agencies, local government, water utilities, academia, and non-profits in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The 2024-2025 Mid-Atlantic Drought Assessment discusses the origins of the drought, its evolution and impacts between June 2024 and May 2025, and a review of response activities. It also presents stakeholder-identified opportunities for further collaboration, research, and capacity building for greater drought resilience in the Mid-Atlantic region.