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 experience the same set of impacts during a drought. We developed tables of impacts reported during past droughts in each state for each level of drought on the U.S. Drought Monitor. These state-specific possible impacts complement the general, national possible impacts column of the U.S. Drought Monitor Classification Scheme.
| Category | Historically observed impacts |
|---|
| D0 | Corn shows drought stress; soil is dry |
| D1 | Soybeans abort pods; corn test weights are struggling |
| Grasses are brown; more grass fires occur; burn bans are issued |
| Pond levels decline |
| D2 | Dryland corn has extremely low yields; commodity shortages are noted; livestock is stressed |
| Fire danger is high |
| Fewer mosquitoes are observed |
| Surface water levels are low; algae blooms increase; voluntary water conservation is requested |
| D3 | Pastures are dry; producers sell cattle; crops are tested for toxins; crops have pest infestation |
| Seasonal allergies are worse; farmers are stressed about high feed prices |
| Trees drop leaves; acorns are underdeveloped |
| Warm water leads to fish kills; streambeds are low to dry |
| D4 | Row crop yields and forage production have significant impacts |
| Extreme measures are taken to conserve water |
| Aquatic invertebrates in waterways increase |
How well does this table characterize drought impacts in your state? Think an impact is missing? Please fill out this survey to help improve the table.