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National Drought Status

A warm and dry week in the West and Plains led to more degradations. Areas of Extreme Drought (D3) expanded in the Northern Plains, and Exceptional Drought (D4) developed in Oregon for the first time since 2015. Conditions in California are also troublesome. The state has had back-to-back dry years, the wet season is over, and this water year is tied as the third driest on record. As of April 6, 2021, 37.6% of the U.S. and 45% of the lower 48 states are in drought.

 

Map Cards
Dataset Name
U.S. Drought Monitor
Update Schedule
Updates Weekly
Last Update
04/06/21
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
04/08/21
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
Updates Daily
Last Update
04/12/21
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: 1 Month
Update Schedule
Updates Daily
Last Update
04/12/21
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
04/09/21
Source(s)

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
04/09/21
Source(s)

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
04/09/21
Source(s)

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 Mean (gridMET, PRISM)
Last Update
04/09/21
Source(s)

gridMET and PRISM temperature datasets from Climate Engine were available in raster format. Temperature data is updated daily but is delayed from the current day by 3 to 4 days.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Temperature 30-Day Departure from Normal (gridMET, PRISM)
Last Update
04/08/21
Source(s)

gridMET and PRISM temperature datasets from Climate Engine were available in raster format. Temperature data is updated daily but is delayed from the current day by 3 to 4 days.

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Temperature 60-Day Departure from Normal (gridMET, PRISM)
Last Update
04/10/21
Source(s)

gridMET and PRISM temperature datasets from Climate Engine were available in raster format. Temperature data is updated daily but is delayed from the current day by 3 to 4 days.

Dataset Links
Statistics
Last Update
04/06/21
Last Update
04/08/21
Last Update
04/06/21
Last Update
04/08/21
Map Cards
Dataset Name
CPC U.S. Monthly Drought Outlook
Update Schedule
Updates Monthly
Last Update
02/28/21
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
02/18/21
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
04/10/21
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
03/18/21
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
03/18/21
Source(s)

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

Dataset Links
Dataset Name
Dataset NameCPC 6–10 Day Precipitation Outlook Update Schedule
Update Schedule
Updates Daily
Last Update
04/10/21
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
02/18/21
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
03/18/21
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
04/11/21
Source(s)

Quantitative Precipitation Forecast data were available in a GIS format from the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center.

Dataset Links