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 | Dryland crops are struggling |
| Water for cattle is limited |
| D1 | Soil moisture is low; winter wheat germination is poor |
| Feed for cattle is limited |
| Springs are drying |
| D2 | Pasture and water is inadequate for cattle; ranching management practices change |
| Air quality is poor, dust is a problem |
| People pray for snow |
| Streams and ponds are dry |
| D3 | Fire danger increases; fire bans on public land are implemented |
| Native vegetation is stressed |
| Streamflow is low |
| D4 | Fire restrictions increase |
| Irrigation water allotments are cut |
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.