Current Impacts
To see or report current drought impacts, please visit the Drought Impacts Toolkit, where you can find impacts from media in the Drought Impact Reporter and from citizen scientists and other volunteer observers under Condition Monitoring Observations.
Historic Impacts
No two states have the same experience during a drought. Below are examples of some of the impacts experienced in Alabama in the past. The process for developing this example impact table is described in Noel, M., Bathke, D., Fuchs, B., Gutzmer, D., Haigh, T., Hayes, M., Poděbradská, M., Shield, C., Smith, K. and Svoboda, M., 2020. Linking drought impacts to drought severity at the state level. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 101(8), pp.E1312-E1321. doi: 10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0067.1. To view a more complete record, and to filter impacts by drought severity, sector and season, check out the interactive State Impacts Tool.
| Category | Examples of historically observed impacts |
|---|
| D0 | Agriculture ponds and creeks begin to decline |
| Forage crops and pasture are stressed; producers feed livestock early |
| Ground is hard |
| D1 | Cash crop growth and yield are low |
| Fire activity increases |
| National forests implement campfire and firework bans |
| Streams and ponds are low |
| D2 | Burn bans begin |
| Crops are damaged, especially dryland corn |
| Hydroelectric power decreases; navigation is limited |
| Large cracks appear in foundations of homes |
| Large surface water levels drop; agricultural ponds and streams have dried up |
| Saltwater intrusion occurs in rivers and bays; saltwater wildlife migrate upstream |
| D3 | Air quality is poor |
| Ground has noticeable cracks; road damage has occurred |
| Landscape growth is stunted and needs irrigation; Christmas tree growth is stunted |
| Large-scale hay shortages occur; producers sell livestock |
| Low flow in rivers and lakes affects recreation |
| Soybean pods shatter |
| Water mains break daily in large municipalities; water conservation is implemented |
| Wildfire count and fire danger continue to increase |
| D4 | Lakes are extremely low; large municipalities implement water restrictions; water prices increase |
| Trees and shrubs are defoliated; grass is brown; landscaping projects are delayed |
| Wildfire count is very high |