Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

NIDIS drought email alerts provide up-to-date local drought information right to your inbox. Since the launch of the new Drought.gov at the beginning of 2021, NIDIS has partnered with NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) to deliver these alerts with the latest changes to local U.S. Drought Monitor conditions. Now, NIDIS and NCEI are expanding this climate service by providing information on the latest drought outlooks. 

Users can sign up for two email lists, receiving alerts when:

  1. Drought improves or worsens: Get emails when the U.S. Drought Monitor category—from Abnormally Dry (D0) conditions to Exceptional Drought (D4)—changes for your location, and learn how long your region has been in drought.
  2. U.S. drought outlooks are updated: Get an email twice a month, when the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center releases its monthly and seasonal (3-month) U.S. drought outlooks.

Each email is personalized for your specific location: enter your address, city, zip code, or even latitude and longitude coordinates to receive customized drought alerts for anywhere in the U.S. or Puerto Rico. Users can sign up for drought alerts by clicking the button to “Get Alerts When Local Drought Conditions Change” at the bottom of every page on Drought.gov. You can also sign up through any city, county, or state page.

Example drought alert email, showing worsening drought conditions for Boulder, Colorado, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor

In addition to location-specific drought information, these emails provide easy access for users to submit local drought impacts through the Condition Observer Monitoring Reports (CMOR) on Drought. These reports help us understand how drought is affecting local conditions.

Drought alert emails are just one way NIDIS is working with partners to increase access to reliable local drought information. The U.S. Drought Portal (Drought.gov) offers interactive maps and information on current conditions, drought impacts, outlooks, and historical drought conditions down to the city and county level, and NIDIS and its partners frequently publish regional drought status updates with local conditions and impacts. By making it easier to access and share local drought information and to report impacts, NIDIS aims to facilitate proactive decision making and, ultimately, improve communities’ long-term drought resilience. 

Sign up for U.S. Drought Monitor and U.S. Drought Outlook alerts, or explore more local drought information on Drought.gov. Have questions or feedback? Reach out to the U.S. Drought Portal team at drought.portal@noaa.gov.