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 | Honey production is down; fewer plants are available to pollinate |
| Lake and pond levels begin to lower |
| D1 | Agriculture ponds dry up; farmers are hauling water; hay yield is low |
| More insects and voles are observed, although mosquito numbers are down; disease spreads in trout, fish hatchery closes |
| Leaves fall early |
| Conditions are very dusty |
| Fire danger increases; burn bans are implemented |
| Water demand is high |
| D2 | Corn is severely stressed; producers are importing hay and selling livestock |
| Air quality is poor; burn bans are implemented; active wildfires are reported |
| Aquatic species die off |
| Streams and creeks are extremely low or dry; well levels are lowering |
| Voluntary water conservation is requested; water quality is poor |
| D3 | Water supply is inadequate for wildlife |
| D4 | Large wildfires are reported |
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.