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 | Ski season is shortened, visitation is lower |
| D1 | Fire danger increases |
| Possible dust storms |
| River flow is low |
| D2 | Wheat and corn are stunted; harvest is early |
| Producers feed cows earlier; silage is harder to find |
| Number of wildfires increases; grasses are brown |
| Fishing closures are issued for rivers; tubing and rafting season is shortened; fish are stressed; fish rescues begin |
| West Nile Virus cases increase |
| River water is warm; rationed water supplies are inadequate for irrigators; water theft occurs; voluntary water conservation is requested |
| D3 | Crop and hop yields are poor; wheat protein content is higher |
| Unprecedented wildfires occur; call is issued for citizen volunteers to fight fires; firefighting funds are running out |
| Tourism is reduced and recreation is altered |
| Water and forest ecosystems are altered; bears look for forage at lower elevations |
| Toxic algae blooms increase; oxygen content is low; shellfish areas close; spawning areas are difficult for fish to reach; fish death is widespread |
| Hydropower production is low |
| Domestic wells are running dry; lake and pond levels are low |
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.