Drought.gov | Advancing Drought Science and Preparedness across the Nation

Advancing Drought Science and Preparedness across the Nation

How is Drought Affecting your Neighborhood?

Where is drought this week?

October 9-15, 2019

18.5%

of the US land area.

75.7 million

people are experiencing drought.

Extreme (D3) and Exceptional (D4) drought is present in Hawaii, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.
Severe (D2) drought is present in Arizona, northwest New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Texas, southern Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, southeastern Illinois, southern Indiana, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, southeast Alaska, and Hawaii.

Featured Resources:

- Coastal Salinity Index (CSI) - A New Tool for Coastal Managers

Drought Status Updates Two-page status updates on drought conditions, including current conditions, impacts, and outlook:
- California-Nevada Drought Outlook - October 2019
- California-Nevada Drought & Climate Outlook Webinar - May 28, 2019
- California-Nevada Drought Outlook - March 2019
- Southwest Drought Status and El Niño Update – February 14, 2019

News & Updates

Thumbnail of the Southeast region of the United States Drought Monitor showing patches of red, orange, and yellow in the region.

Southeast Drought Status Update - October 2019

As of October 17, 2019, the Southeast is experiencing a ‘Flash Drought’. Drought conditions increased throughout the month of September due to extreme dryness and warmer than average temperatures for most...

Forecast-informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO): Overcoming Barriers and Realizing Benefits

The University of Texas-Arlington, Texas Water Development Board, and NIDIS hosted an interactive workshop on September 12-13 in Arlington, Texas, to learn how NOAA forecasts have been applied in...

Image showing green grass on one side and a brown field on the other

Predicting Flash Drought

Flash drought has recently developed in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. The prediction of flash droughts on subseasonal timescales is of critical importance for impact assessment, disaster mitigation, and loss...

Featured Drought Data, Maps & Tools

Drought Impacts Report

The National Drought Mitigation Center developed this database of drought impacts, which can be searched by location, type of impact, time period and more.

Wildfire Risks

The National Interagency Coordination Center in Boise, Idaho, produces these maps monthly.

Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI)

The Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI) is an experimental tool that can serve as an indicator of both rapidly evolving "flash" droughts (developing over a few weeks) and sustained droughts (developing over months but lasting up to years).

How is Drought Affecting your Neighborhood?

Current Conditions for /city/, /state/ (/county/)

RTNWSBlacksburg: More rain on the way! After two substantial 1-3 inch rain events for much of the forecast area during the past couple of weeks helping to erase the drought conditions with which we started October, more rain is on the way for Tuesday! htt

RTokmesonet: With the exception of a little abnormally dry relief to far SE Oklahoma the driest parts of the state keep missing out. Expect drought conditions to worsen a little each week in the west until significant rainfall is received. #okmesonet ht

RTNWSNashville: Our drought-stricken eastern counties received some very beneficial rainfall yesterday and overnight. In fact, #Crossville set a new daily record rainfall yesterday of 1.22", breaking the old record of 0.76" set in 2005 #tnwx

RTNWSPhoenix: For those of you who like "cold" weather this time of year, the forecast for around Halloween into early November strongly favors below normal temps for almost the entire country, including AZ/CA. It doesn't look particularly

RTNWSWPC: Areas that witnessed one of the driest Septembers on record have picked up beneficial rainfall in the month of October. This graphic shows a handful of cities that really needed the October rain. The 7-day forecast shows more precipitation is on

RTNWSWGRFC: Thunderstorms came through the area as expected. While some areas received 3+ inches of rain, most of the area received between 0.50 to 1.50 inches, which will help the drought a little. More rain expected later this week for the same areas.

RTNWSPueblo: It's official! In coordination with @ColoradoClimate @NOAANCEIclimate and @HPClimateCenter, it was determined that a new #Colorado state maximum temperature -- was set on July 20, 2019 when it hit 115°F at the John Martin Dam. #cowx htt

RTSCDNR: The Drought Response Committee upgraded Beaufort, Chesterfield, Darlington, Dorchester, Florence, Oconee and Pickens counties to Moderate level drought status. Charleston and Berkeley counties were upgraded to Incipient. READ MORE: https://t.co/

RTNWSWPC: An updated Day 3-7 Hazards Outlook has been issued. https://t.co/VBxTZC7t44 https://t.co/wkUo5semDN

RTNWSWPC: A loop of the 7-day precipitation forecast depicts a wet &amp; active pattern in some parched regions of the South. Some of the precipitation is courtesy of #Nestor this weekend &amp; some is from a pair of systems next week. The Pacific

RTNWSWGRFC: Dry weather for the start of the weekend, but rain/storms return late Sunday. Most of TX needs precip to help with the drought, but forecasters will watch SE TX for possible river rises. #txflood #txdrought https://t.co/MCIpR76EGs

RTNWSJuneau: Recent rains across SEAK have begun to alleviate some of the extreme #drought conditions. There has been minor improvement over the Southern areas with D3 (Extreme) improving to D2 (Severe). However, drought conditions persist for SEAK. #SE

DroughtGov: Most #drought indices do not include salinity, a key stressor with coastal drought. The Coastal Salinity Index, by @DroughtGov @CarolinasRISA @USGS, monitors drought in these conditions. While it focuses on NC, SC, and GA, there is potential f

RTNWSCPC: ICYMI our November-January outlook was released yesterday. Chances are increased for a wet end to 2019 and start to 2020 across much of the Central U.S., East Coast, and Alaska. https://t.co/Gv7URMbjkO https://t.co/pZTpztB4tS

RTNWSSaltLakeCity: Significant record broken St. George has broken the record for most consecutive days without measurable precipitation: 122 days and counting. The last time there was measurable precipitation in St. George was June 17. #utwx https://t

News & Updates

Southeast Drought Status Update - October 2019

Forecast-informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO): Overcoming Barriers and Realizing Benefits

Predicting Flash Drought

Featured Drought Data, Maps & Tools

Drought Impacts Report

The National Drought Mitigation Center developed this database of drought impacts, which can be searched by location, type of impact, time period and more.

Drought Impacts Report

Wildfire Risks

The National Interagency Coordination Center in Boise, Idaho, produces these maps monthly.

Wildfire Risks

Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI)

The Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI) is an experimental tool that can serve as an indicator of both rapidly evolving "flash" droughts (developing over a few weeks) and sustained droughts (developing over months but lasting up to years).

Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI)

How is Drought Affecting your Neighborhood?

Current Conditions for /city/, /state/ (/county/)

News & Updates

Featured Drought Data, Maps & Tools

Drought Impacts Report The National Drought Mitigation Center developed this database of drought impacts, which can be searched by location, type of impact, time period and more.

Wildfire Risks The National Interagency Coordination Center in Boise, Idaho, produces these maps monthly.

Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI) The Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI) is an experimental tool that can serve as an indicator of both rapidly evolving "flash" droughts (developing over a few weeks) and sustained droughts (developing over months but lasting up to years).

Drought Impacts Report

The National Drought Mitigation Center developed this database of drought impacts, which can be searched by location, type of impact, time period and more.

Wildfire Risks

The National Interagency Coordination Center in Boise, Idaho, produces these maps monthly.

Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI)

The Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI) is an experimental tool that can serve as an indicator of both rapidly evolving "flash" droughts (developing over a few weeks) and sustained droughts (developing over months but lasting up to years).