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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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The West saw huge areas worsen this week, particularly in Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. Parts of the Plains also experienced worsening drought, including South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas. The Midwest saw the most improvements for the second week in a row. As of March 17, 2026, 45.81% of the United States and Puerto Rico and 54.81% of the Lower 48 states are in drought.

 

Map Cards
Map
Dataset Name

U.S. Drought Monitor

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
03/17/26

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

Source(s)
Update Schedule

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

Map
Dataset Name

U.S. Drought Monitor 1-Week Change Map

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
03/17/26

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, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The map is updated weekly on Thursday mornings, with data valid through Tuesday of that week.

Current weekly U.S. Drought Monitor 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

U.S. Drought Monitor 4-Week Change Map

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
03/17/26

U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) 4-Week Change Map data from the National Drought Mitigation Center were available in a raster format. 

The USDM is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The map and accompanying change maps are updated weekly on Thursday mornings, with data valid through Tuesday of that week.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

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

Map
Dataset Name

Precipitation Conditions: Last 7 Days (gridMET, NLDAS)

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
03/16/26

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
03/16/26

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
03/16/26

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
03/15/26

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
03/15/26

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
03/15/26

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

NASA SPoRT-LIS 0-100 cm Soil Moisture Percentile

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
03/18/26

NASA’s Short-term Prediction and Transition Center – Land Information System (SPoRT-LIS) provides high-resolution (about 3-km) gridded soil moisture products in real-time to support regional and local modeling and improve situational awareness. The 0–100 cm soil moisture percentile data has shown to be a utility for drought monitoring. The near-surface (0–10 cm) layer responds quickly to heavy precipitation and rapidly drying events. In deeper layers, soil moisture evolves more slowly and has demonstrated greater utility overall for drought monitoring purposes since drought evolves typically on timescales of weeks to years. 

The 0–100 cm soil moisture percentiles use a 1981–2013 soil moisture climatology.

Soil moisture data from NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center (SPoRT) were available in raster format.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

This map updates daily with data from NASA's Short-term Prediction and Transition Center – Land Information System (SPoRT-LIS).

Map
Dataset Name

GRACE Root Zone Soil Moisture Percentile

Update Schedule
Data Valid
Last Update
03/14/26

Soil moisture data from GRACE were available in GeoTIFF format. GIS software used the GeoTIFF format to create the map tiles used on Drought.gov. Data / maps are available at nasagrace.unl.edu through a partnership with the National Drought Mitigation Center.

Product description: "Scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center generate groundwater and soil moisture drought indicators each week. They are based on terrestrial water storage observations derived from GRACE-FO satellite data and integrated with other observations, using a sophisticated numerical model of land surface water and energy processes. The drought indicators describe current wet or dry conditions, expressed as a percentile showing the probability of occurrence for that particular location and time of year, with lower values (warm colors) meaning dryer than normal, and higher values (blues) meaning wetter than normal. These are provided as both images and binary data files."

 

 

Source(s)
Update Schedule

Data from NASA GRACE are updated weekly on Mondays, and this Drought.gov map is updated every Tuesday.

Statistics
Dataset Name

Percentage of the U.S. in Drought

Update Schedule
Updates Weekly
Last Update
03/17/26

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
03/19/26

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.

Source(s)
Dataset Name

People Affected by Drought

Update Schedule
Updates Weekly
Last Update
03/17/26

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
03/19/26

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

CPC U.S. Monthly Drought Outlook

Last Update
08/31/25

Drought outlooks from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) were available in a GIS format. For more details about the current Monthly Drought Outlook map, read the latest monthly assessment from CPC.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

The Climate Prediction Center issues its Monthly Drought Outlooks on the last day of the calendar month.

Map
Dataset Name

CPC U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook

Last Update
03/19/26

Drought outlooks from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) were available in a GIS format. For more details about the current Seasonal Drought Outlook map, read the latest seasonal assessment from CPC.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

The Climate Prediction Center issues its Seasonal Drought Outlooks on the third Thursday of each calendar month. Sometimes, the map is adjusted on the last day of the month to maintain consistency with the Monthly Drought Outlook.

Map
Dataset Name

CPC 6–10 Day Temperature Outlook

Last Update
03/18/26

Temperature outlook data from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center were available in a GIS format.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

The Climate Prediction Center updates their 6–10 day outlooks daily.

Map
Dataset Name

CPC 1-Month Temperature Outlook

Last Update
03/19/26

Temperature outlook data from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center were available in a GIS format.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

The Climate Prediction Center updates their monthly temperature outlook on the third Thursday of each calendar month and again on the last day of each calendar month.

Map
Dataset Name

CPC Seasonal Temperature Outlook

Last Update
03/19/26

Temperature outlook data from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center were available in a GIS format.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

The Climate Prediction Center updates their seasonal temperature outlook on the third Thursday of each calendar month.

Map
Dataset Name

CPC 6–10 Day Precipitation Outlook

Last Update
03/18/26

Temperature and precipitation data from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center were available in a GIS format. The 6–10 day outlook is updated daily.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

The Climate Prediction Center updates their 6–10 day precipitation outlook daily.

Map
Dataset Name

CPC 1-Month Precipitation Outlook

Last Update
03/19/26

Precipitation data from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center were available in a GIS format. The monthly precipitation outlook is updated on the third Thursday of each calendar month.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

The Climate Prediction Center updates their monthly precipitation outlook on the third Thursday of each calendar month and again on the last day of each calendar month.

Map
Dataset Name

CPC Seasonal Precipitation Outlook

Last Update
03/19/26

Precipitation data from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center were available in a GIS format. The seasonal precipitation outlook is updated on the third Thursday of each calendar month.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

The Climate Prediction Center updates their seasonal precipitation outlook on the third Thursday of each calendar month.

Map
Dataset Name

Quantitative Precipitation Forecast: Day 1

Last Update
03/19/26

Produced by the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center, this Quantitative Precipitation Forecast shows the amount of liquid precipitation expected to fall over the next 24 hours. (In the case of snow or ice, the forecast represents the amount of liquid that will be measured when the precipitation is melted.) Precipitation amounts can vary significantly over short distances, especially when thunderstorms occur, so the Quantitative Precipitation Forecast is defined as the expected "areal average" (on a 20 x 20 km grid) in inches.

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. Eastern) that day.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

The Quantitative Precipitation Forecast maps on Drought.gov are updated once a day and are valid from 7 a.m. Eastern that day.

Map
Dataset Name

Quantitative Precipitation Forecast: Day 1–7

Last Update
03/19/26

Produced by the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center, this Quantitative Precipitation Forecast shows the amount of liquid precipitation expected to fall over the next 7 days. (In the case of snow or ice, the forecast represents the amount of liquid that will be measured when the precipitation is melted.) Precipitation amounts can vary significantly over short distances, especially when thunderstorms occur, so the Quantitative Precipitation Forecast is defined as the expected "areal average" (on a 20 x 20 km grid) in inches. Learn more.

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. Eastern) that day.

Source(s)
Update Schedule

The Quantitative Precipitation Forecast maps on Drought.gov are updated once a day and are valid from 7 a.m. Eastern that day.