Michigan
The U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) is updated each Thursday to show the location and intensity of drought across the country. This map shows drought conditions across Michigan using a five-category system, from Abnormally Dry (D0) conditions to Exceptional Drought (D4). The USDM is a joint effort of the National Drought Mitigation Center, USDA, and NOAA. Learn more.
The following state-specific drought impacts were compiled by the National Drought Mitigation Center. While these impacts are not exhaustive, they can help provide a clearer picture of drought in Michigan.
- Grass fires increase
- Lawns are brown; landscape and gardens are watered more frequently
- Most crops and vegetation are stressed; farmed Christmas trees are stressed
- Well levels decline
- Corn and soybean yields are low
- Mature trees are stressed
- Streamflow is extremely low, potentially too low to irrigate
- Fire danger is extreme; buildings are destroyed, and people are evacuated
- Crop yields are down; irrigation costs rise
- Power plants operate at reduced capacity or temporarily close
- Michigan has experienced little or no exceptional (D4) drought, so there are no D4-level drought impacts recorded in the Drought Impact Reporter.
- Grass fires increase
- Lawns are brown; landscape and gardens are watered more frequently
- Most crops and vegetation are stressed; farmed Christmas trees are stressed
- Well levels decline
- Corn and soybean yields are low
- Mature trees are stressed
- Streamflow is extremely low, potentially too low to irrigate
- Fire danger is extreme; buildings are destroyed, and people are evacuated
- Crop yields are down; irrigation costs rise
- Power plants operate at reduced capacity or temporarily close
- Michigan has experienced little or no exceptional (D4) drought, so there are no D4-level drought impacts recorded in the Drought Impact Reporter.
- Grass fires increase
- Lawns are brown; landscape and gardens are watered more frequently
- Most crops and vegetation are stressed; farmed Christmas trees are stressed
- Well levels decline
- Corn and soybean yields are low
- Mature trees are stressed
- Streamflow is extremely low, potentially too low to irrigate
- Fire danger is extreme; buildings are destroyed, and people are evacuated
- Crop yields are down; irrigation costs rise
- Power plants operate at reduced capacity or temporarily close
- Michigan has experienced little or no exceptional (D4) drought, so there are no D4-level drought impacts recorded in the Drought Impact Reporter.
Explore Drought Conditions by City and County
View up-to-date drought conditions down to the city and county level, including temperature, and precipitation conditions, key drought indicators, outlooks, historical conditions, and water supply, agriculture, and public health maps.
Drought in Michigan from 2000–Present
The U.S. Drought Monitor started in 2000. Since 2000, the longest duration of drought (D1-D4) in Michigan lasted 113 weeks beginning on August 26, 2008, and ending on October 19, 2010. The most intense period of drought occurred the week of August 28, 2007, where D3 affected 17.06% of Michigan land.
The U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) is a national map released every Thursday, showing parts of the U.S. that are currently in drought. The USDM relies on drought experts to synthesize the best available data and work with local observers to interpret the information. The USDM also incorporates ground truthing and information about how drought is affecting people, via a network of more than 450 observers across the country, including state climatologists, National Weather Service staff, Extension agents, and hydrologists. Learn more.
The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) is an index to characterize meteorological drought on a range of timescales, ranging from 1 to 72 months. The SPI is the number of standard deviations that observed cumulative precipitation deviates from the climatological average. NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information produce the 9-month SPI values below on a monthly basis, going back to 1895. Learn more.
Tree-rings are used to extend the instrumental record of drought to over 2,000 years. The Living Blended Drought Product (LBDP) is a recalibrated data series of June-July-August Palmer Modified Drought Index (PMDI) values in the lower 48 U.S. states. This dataset blends tree-ring reconstructions and instrumental data to estimate the average summer PMDI values, which extend over 2,000 years in some parts of the U.S. Learn more.
Web Resources for Michigan
Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy
Office of the Michigan State Climatologist
Michigan State University | Enviroweather
MSU Extension | Drought Resources
NDMC | Michigan Drought Planning Resources
USDA Farm Service Agency | Michigan
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office | APX - Gaylord, MI
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office | DTX - Detroit/Pontiac, MI
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office | GRR - Grand Rapids, MI
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office | IWX - Northern Indiana
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office | MQT - Marquette, MI
Midwestern Regional Climate Center
USDA | Northern Forests Climate Hub
Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center
Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments (GLISA, a NOAA RISA Team)
National Weather Service Central Region Headquarters
National Weather Service | North Central River Forecast Center (NCRFC)
Tell us how drought is impacting your community by submitting a condition monitoring report. Your submissions help us better understand how drought is affecting local conditions.