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 | Crop germination is poor |
| Grass fires increase |
| D1 | Crops and pastures are water stressed; farmers are encouraged to have a drought plan |
| Fire danger increases |
| Grasshopper infestation occurs |
| Pond and creek levels begin to decline; more nesting areas are available for birds |
| D2 | Soil moisture is low; pasture and rangeland is dry; crop conditions are poor; hay yields are low; cattle are sold |
| Open burn and firework restrictions are implemented; fire activity intensifies |
| Conditions are dusty; air quality is poor |
| Fertilizer sales are low at elevators |
| River flow is decreased; stock dams are low |
| D3 | Crops stop growing; pastures go dormant, emergency haying of conservation areas is authorized |
| Blue-green algae blooms cause cattle death |
| Large wildfires burn |
| Fairs have fewer entries; public meetings are scheduled with government officials to discuss drought |
| D4 | Wheat is baled for hay; numerous tests are conducted on water nitrate level and quality and high nitrate levels in forage; farm service agency increases staffing; producers cull cattle |
| Wildfires are immense; rural/volunteer fire departments are stressed; rural fire departments run out of funding |
| Fewer hunting permits are issued |
| Local economy is at a standstill |
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.