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 | Grass fires increase |
| D1 | Farmers plant fewer crops |
| Fire risk increases |
| D2 | Grass is not growing; ground is cracking; grazing forage is lost |
| Trees are stressed |
| Creeks and bayou water levels are low |
| D3 | Rice crop is expensive to maintain; soybean yields are reduced; rye growth is stunted |
| Saltwater intrudes into rivers; rivers are too salty for irrigation |
| Trees are drought stressed; crawfish population is low |
| Burn and firework bans are implemented; fires are difficult to extinguish |
| Water pressure is low; voluntary water restrictions are requested |
| Allergies worsen; air quality is poor |
| D4 | Pasture and crop loss is widespread |
| Mosquito numbers decrease |
| Fishing is compromised |
| Water shortages and restrictions are implemented |
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.