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 | Lawns and vegetation are brown |
| Crops and pastures show mild stress |
| D1 | Crops and pastures show stress; corn germination is poor |
| Burn bans are issued; wildfires are reported |
| Increased algae and fungus growth is noted |
| Trees begin to show mild stress |
| D2 | Hay yield is low; crop losses are reported; livestock need supplemental hay and water |
| Ponds, lakes, and river levels are low; boating hazards are found in lakes |
| Tress distressed, leaves wilting, pine trees turning brown |
| D3 | Maintaining cattle and horses is very expensive, cost of food and water is very high; producers sell livestock |
| Creeks and ponds are completely dry; water shortages are widespread; water restrictions begin |
| D4 | Hay hotline is put in place due to shortages; producers are hauling water |
| Water sources are extremely low |
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.