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 have the same experience during a drought. Below are examples of some of the impacts experienced in Nevada in the past. The process for developing this example impact table is described in Noel, M., Bathke, D., Fuchs, B., Gutzmer, D., Haigh, T., Hayes, M., Poděbradská, M., Shield, C., Smith, K. and Svoboda, M., 2020. Linking drought impacts to drought severity at the state level. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 101(8), pp.E1312-E1321. doi: 10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0067.1. To view a more complete record, and to filter impacts by drought severity, sector and season, check out the interactive State Impacts Tool.
| Category | Examples of historically observed impacts |
|---|
| D0 | Golf season is extended |
| Snowpack is reduced |
| D1 | Fire danger increases; fires at elevation increase |
| Forage is reduced |
| D2 | Bear activity increases; wildlife encroach onto residential areas |
| Desert plants implement reproductive survival mechanisms |
| Summer recreation season is extended; hunting is compromised |
| Surface water levels decline; Lake Tahoe water clarity is higher than normal |
| D3 | Alfalfa and hay yields decrease; farmers are not planting crops |
| Excess algae growth and fish kills occur |
| Fire activity increases; fire season is extended; firework ban is implemented |
| Forage and water supplies are inadequate for wildlife; wild horse health deteriorates, leading to emergency roundup and relocation |
| Irrigation allocations are very low; water supply for farming and ranching is inadequate |
| Lakes and rivers are depleted; lake hazards are noted; water temperatures rise |
| Pasture conditions are very poor; producers are selling cattle |
| Vegetation green-up is poor |
| Winter recreation is limited |
| D4 | Boat ramps close; trout fishing limits are lifted; wildlife populations decline; producers haul water for wildlife; ecosystem viability is threatened |
| Citizens reduce water use |
| Reservoir levels are extremely low; hydropower production is limited, alternative power is expensive; groundwater decreases; water allotments to farmers and ranchers are curtailed |