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National Drought Status

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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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Drought continues its retreat in California as another parade of atmospheric rivers drench the state. The only areas that have been consistently worsening include parts of Texas, the South, and Florida. As of March 14, 2023, 29.9% of the U.S. and Puerto Rico and 35.79% of the lower 48 states are in drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

 

Map Cards
Dataset Name
U.S. Drought Monitor
Update Schedule
Updates Weekly
Last Update
03/14/23
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
Updates Weekly
Last Update
03/14/23
Source(s)

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

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Evaporative Demand Drought Index: 1 Week
Update Schedule
Last Updated
Last Update
03/16/23
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.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Evaporative Demand Drought Index: 4 Weeks
Update Schedule
Last Updated
Last Update
03/16/23
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.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Precipitation Conditions: Last 7 Days (gridMET, NLDAS)
Last Update
03/19/23
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.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Precipitation: 30-Day % of Normal (gridMET, NLDAS)
Last Update
03/19/23
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.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Precipitation: 60-Day % of Normal (gridMET, NLDAS)
Last Update
03/19/23
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.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Temperature: 7-Day Maximum (gridMET, PRISM)
Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
03/19/23
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
03/19/23
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
03/19/23
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
Statistics
Dataset Name
Percentage of the U.S. in Drought
Update Schedule
Updates Weekly
Last Update
03/14/23
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
03/16/23
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
03/14/23
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
03/16/23
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
CPC U.S. Monthly Drought Outlook
Update Schedule
Updates Monthly
Last Update
02/28/23
Source(s)

Drought outlooks from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) were available in a GIS format.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
CPC U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook
Update Schedule
Updates Monthly
Last Update
03/16/23
Source(s)

Drought outlooks from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) were available in a GIS format.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
CPC 6–10 Day Temperature Outlook
Update Schedule
Updates Daily
Last Update
03/21/23
Source(s)

Temperature and precipitation data from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) were available in a GIS format.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
CPC One-Month Temperature Outlook
Update Schedule
Updates Monthly
Last Update
03/16/23
Source(s)

Temperature and precipitation data from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) were available in a GIS format.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
CPC Three-Month Temperature Outlook
Update Schedule
Updates Monthly
Last Update
03/16/23
Source(s)

Temperature and precipitation data from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) were available in a GIS format.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
CPC 6–10 Day Precipitation Outlook
Update Schedule
Updates Daily
Last Update
03/21/23
Source(s)

Temperature and precipitation data from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) were available in a GIS format.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
CPC One-Month Precipitation Outlook
Update Schedule
Updates Monthly
Last Update
03/16/23
Source(s)

Temperature and precipitation data from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) were available in a GIS format.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
CPC Three-Month Precipitation Outlook
Update Schedule
Updates Monthly
Last Update
03/16/23
Source(s)

Temperature and precipitation data from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) were available in a GIS format.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Quantitative Precipitation Forecast: 7-Day Total
Update Schedule
Updates Daily
Last Update
03/22/23
Source(s)

Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (QPF) data were available in a GIS format from the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center. The QPF maps on Drought.gov are updated daily and are valid from 12z (7 a.m. EST) that day.

Dataset Links