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 | Soil moisture is low, dryland crop germination is poor, pastures are dry |
| Fire danger increases |
| Streamflow is low, affecting recreation fishing |
| D1 | Producers feed livestock supplemental hay; crops are stressed and growth is poor |
| Fire restrictions are implemented |
| D2 | Hay and crop yields are low; hay quality is poor; subsoil moisture is nonexistent |
| Fire count and danger are high; air quality is poor, with dust and smoke |
| Trees and landscaping show signs of stress and lose leaves |
| Livestock ponds are low or dry; water quality is monitored; wells are stressed |
| D3 | Crops are not harvestable; winter pasture is opened for grazing; producers are hauling water and buying expensive supplemental feed, culling cattle and selling early; soil has large cracks; fields are bare |
| Fire restrictions increase |
| Agriculture and local business face economic loss |
| Cattle have very little water; water quality is toxic |
| D4 | Pasture loss is widespread; crops are destroyed |
| Property is closed for hunting |
| Drought hotlines are in place |
| Fire risk is extremely high; fires are widespread |
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.