Drought Impacts | Drought.gov
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Data & Maps
Drought Impacts
Drought’s consequences are far-reaching, impacting water quality, public health, the economy, the natural environment, public infrastructure, and more. Understanding drought’s potential impacts enables drought planners and decision makers to better address those impacts and, ultimately, improve their communities' preparedness to cope with drought.
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Data and Maps
To monitor and respond to drought, its impacts on a community must be fully understood. Immediate drought impacts can include visibly dry vegetation and lower water levels in lakes and reservoirs. Longer-term impacts, such as land subsidence, seawater intrusion, and damage to ecosystems, can be harder to see, but more costly to manage in the future.
Drought Impacts
Drought Information Statements
Billion-Dollar Drought Disasters
National Weather Service
drought information statements
provide up-to-date reports on the current drought situation for a Weather Forecast Office’s county warning and forecast area. These statements summarize recent weather and hydrologic conditions, discuss local drought impacts, and provide a local drought outlook.
This map shows all active drought information statements published within the last 35 days.
Source(s):
National Weather Service
U.S. Drought Monitor
This map shows the cumulative cost of billion-dollar drought events by state from 1980 to the present. Specifically, the map reflects drought-induced costs associated with damaged or failed crop production and increased cattle feeding costs. Key sources include USDA crop insurance and production data that may be supplemented by state agency reporting.
Source(s):
National Centers for Environmental Information
Periods of drought can lead to inadequate
water supply
, threatening the health, safety, and welfare of communities. Streamflow, groundwater, reservoir, and snowpack data are key to monitoring and forecasting water supply.
Drought can reduce the water availability and water quality necessary for productive farms, ranches, and grazing lands, resulting in significant negative direct and indirect economic impacts to the agricultural sector. Monitoring
agricultural drought
typically focuses on examining levels of precipitation, evaporative demand, soil moisture, and surface/groundwater quantity and quality.
Drought can cause significant human health outcomes that can challenge
public health
departments, emergency managers, and healthcare providers. Drought can lead to decreased water quantity and quality, increased incidence of illness or disease, increased mortality rates, and adverse mental health outcomes as livelihoods are challenged.
During drought conditions, fuels for
wildfire
, such as grasses and trees, can dry out and become more flammable. Drought can also increase the probability of ignition and the rate at which fire spreads. Temperature, soil moisture, humidity, wind speed, and fuel availability (vegetation) are all factors that interact to influence the frequency of large wildfires.
Drought can reduce the water availability and water quality necessary for productive farms, ranches, and grazing lands, resulting in significant negative direct and indirect economic impacts to the agricultural sector. Monitoring
agricultural drought
typically focuses on examining levels of precipitation, evaporative demand, soil moisture, and surface/groundwater quantity and quality.
Extreme weather events can interact or cascade—where one disaster event triggers or changes the probability of another event. For example, drought conditions can increase the probability of large-scale wildfires, and droughts are often accompanied by extreme heat. By including drought in
multi-hazard planning
, a community can consolidate its resources and develop coordinated responses before a disaster.
Drought Information Statements
U.S. Drought Monitor
D0 - Abnormally Dry
Abnormally Dry (D0) indicates a region that is going into or coming out of drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
View typical impacts by state.
D1 – Moderate Drought
Moderate Drought (D1) is the first of four drought categories (D1–D4), according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
View typical impacts by state.
D2 – Severe Drought
Severe Drought (D2) is the second of four drought categories (D1–D4), according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
View typical impacts by state.
D3 – Extreme Drought
Extreme Drought (D3) is the third of four drought categories (D1–D4), according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
View typical impacts by state.
D4 – Exceptional Drought
Exceptional Drought (D4) is the most intense drought category, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
View typical impacts by state.
Cost of Major Drought Events Since 1980
$1B
$50B
National Weather Service
drought information statements
provide up-to-date reports on the current drought situation for a Weather Forecast Office’s county warning and forecast area. These statements summarize recent weather and hydrologic conditions, discuss local drought impacts, and provide a local drought outlook.
This map shows all active drought information statements published within the last 35 days.
This map shows the cumulative cost of billion-dollar drought events by state from 1980 to the present. Specifically, the map reflects drought-induced costs associated with damaged or failed crop production and increased cattle feeding costs. Key sources include USDA crop insurance and production data that may be supplemented by state agency reporting.
Source(s):
National Weather Service
U.S. Drought Monitor
Source(s):
National Centers for Environmental Information
Weather Forecast Offices issue drought information statements as needed based on local conditions. This map is updated daily.
Billion-dollar disaster data are updated quarterly.
Periods of drought can lead to inadequate
water supply
, threatening the health, safety, and welfare of communities. Streamflow, groundwater, reservoir, and snowpack data are key to monitoring and forecasting water supply.
Drought can reduce the water availability and water quality necessary for productive farms, ranches, and grazing lands, resulting in significant negative direct and indirect economic impacts to the agricultural sector. Monitoring
agricultural drought
typically focuses on examining levels of precipitation, evaporative demand, soil moisture, and surface/groundwater quantity and quality.
Drought can cause significant human health outcomes that can challenge
public health
departments, emergency managers, and healthcare providers. Drought can lead to decreased water quantity and quality, increased incidence of illness or disease, increased mortality rates, and adverse mental health outcomes as livelihoods are challenged.
During drought conditions, fuels for
wildfire
, such as grasses and trees, can dry out and become more flammable. Drought can also increase the probability of ignition and the rate at which fire spreads. Temperature, soil moisture, humidity, wind speed, and fuel availability (vegetation) are all factors that interact to influence the frequency of large wildfires.
Drought can reduce the water availability and water quality necessary for productive farms, ranches, and grazing lands, resulting in significant negative direct and indirect economic impacts to the agricultural sector. Monitoring
agricultural drought
typically focuses on examining levels of precipitation, evaporative demand, soil moisture, and surface/groundwater quantity and quality.
Extreme weather events can interact or cascade—where one disaster event triggers or changes the probability of another event. For example, drought conditions can increase the probability of large-scale wildfires, and droughts are often accompanied by extreme heat. By including drought in
multi-hazard planning
, a community can consolidate its resources and develop coordinated responses before a disaster.
Updates Daily:
04/23/26
Data Valid:
10/10/25
View All Statements
Learn more about these data
Data and Map Gallery
A selection of tools to help assess the economic, environmental, and social impacts of drought.
U.S. Agricultural Commodities in Drought
The U.S. Department of Agriculture produces weekly maps and charts displaying locations and percentages of drought-affected areas corn, soybeans, hay, cattle, and winter wheat.
Period of Record
2012–Present
File Format
images
pdf
Condition Monitoring Observer Reports on Drought (CMOR-Drought)
Condition Monitoring Observer Reports on Drought (CMOR-Drought) is a tool that allows citizen scientists to
submit obse
Period of Record
2018 - Present
File Format
images
other
Drought Impact Reporter (DIR)
Drought Impacts Reporter (DIR): an interactive database of drought impacts in the U.S., by location, data, type, and cost built from stakeholder, government, media and other reports.
Period of Record
2005 - Present
Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) Data
Precipitation data from CoCoRaHS: a non-profit, community-based network of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail, and snow) acros
Period of Record
1998 - Present
File Format
pdf
other
Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters
The National Centers for Environmental Information's Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters shows the weather and climate events that have had the greatest economic impact from 1980
Period of Record
1980 - present
File Format
images
csv
json
other
National Weather Service Drought Information Statements
National Weather Service drought information statements provide up-to-date reports on the current drought situation for a Weather Forecast Office’s county warning and forecast area.
Period of Record
Current Conditions
File Format
text (ascii)
View More Data & Maps
Drought Impacts by State and U.S. Drought Monitor Category
No two states experience the same set of impacts during a drought. Drought in Alaska looks different than drought in Arizona. 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 across the United States.
How Drought Impacts
the United States
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D0 - Abnormally Dry
Short-term dryness slowing planting, growth of crops or pastures.
Some lingering water deficits
Pastures or crops not fully recovered
53.3
of U.S.
(D0–D4)
D1 - Moderate Drought
Some damage to crops, pastures
Streams, reservoirs, or wells low, some water shortages developing or imminent
Voluntary water-use restrictions requested
36.9
of U.S.
(D1–D4)
D2 - Severe Drought
Crop or pasture loss likely
Water shortages common
Water restrictions imposed
25.9
of U.S.
(D2–D4)
D3 - Extreme Drought
Major crop/pasture losses
Widespread water shortages or restrictions
18.3
of U.S.
(D3–D4)
D4 - Exceptional Drought
Exceptional and widespread crop/pasture losses
Shortages of water in reservoirs, streams, and wells creating water emergencies
8.1
of U.S.
(D4)