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National Drought Status

Week of
-

Current Conditons

Nationwide drought coverage decreased every so slightly for the first time after 11 weeks of increases, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. This past week, the Northwest and the Northern and Southern Plains saw improvements, while the Southwest and Southeast experienced degradations. One month ago, 7.5% of the Southeast was in drought. Now, 27.4% is in drought. As of October 10, 2023, 33.59% of the U.S. and Puerto Rico and 40.01% of the lower 48 states are in drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

 

U.S. Drought Monitor

U.S. Drought Monitor
Drought Change Since Last Week

Precipitation Conditions

Inches of Precipitation
Percent of Normal Precipitation (%)
100%
Percent of Normal Precipitation (%)
100%

Temperature Conditions

Maximum Temperature (°F)
60
Departure from Normal Max Temperature (°F)
0
Departure from Normal Max Temperature (°F)
0

Soil Moisture Conditions

0–100 cm Soil Moisture Percentile
70
100
20 cm Soil Moisture Percentile
70
100
Root Zone Soil Moisture: Wetness Percentile
70
100

15.02%

of the U.S. is in drought this week.

120.6 Million

acres of crops in U.S. are experiencing drought conditions this week.

19.8 Million

people in the U.S. are affected by drought this week.

25

U.S. states are experiencing Moderate Drought (D1) or worse this week.