Here’s the latest high-level update on the United States Drought Monitor (USDM).
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What USDM is: The USDM is a weekly map that shows where drought is occurring across the United States, using five categories from abnormally dry (D0) to exceptional drought (D4). It’s produced jointly by NOAA, the USDA, and NDMC, and is updated on a weekly cadence with Thursday releases in many regions.[2][7][8]
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Where to view the most current map: The primary source for the current conditions and the weekly map is the U.S. Drought Portal (Drought.gov), which hosts the USDM map, accompanying narrative, and outlooks. It also links to the weekly updates and related products.[1][3][9]
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Related context and tools: In addition to the weekly map, CPC (NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center) provides drought outlooks that project drought evolution, and USDA data show how drought affects agriculture and eligibility for certain assistance programs. These related products help interpret current conditions and potential near-term changes.[5][2]
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Historical and monthly context: NOAA/NCEI publish monthly summaries that describe changes and impacts across the CONUS, which contextualize the weekly USDM readings and help users track longer-term trends.[3][6]
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How drought conditions are described: The USDM map uses standard categories:
- D0: Abnormally Dry
- D1: Moderate drought
- D2: Severe drought
- D3: Extreme drought
- D4: Exceptional drought
These classifications are used consistently across monitoring and outlook products.[2]
If you’d like, I can fetch the current week’s USDM map details for a specific region or provide a concise summary of recent changes and expected outlooks. I can also pull the latest narrative from Drought.gov and summarize any notable shifts (e.g., expansion or contraction of drought areas). Just tell me which region or the level of detail you want.
Citations:
- US Drought Monitor overview and classifications.[2]
- Drought.gov as the primary portal for current conditions and weekly updates.[1]
- Current map and related current conditions information.[7][8]
- CPC and USDA context on drought outlooks and agricultural impacts.[5][2]
- Monthly drought summaries for context and impacts.[6][3]
Sources
The U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) is a map released every Thursday, showing parts of the U.S. that are in drought. The map uses five classifications: abnormally dry (D0), showing areas that may be going into or are coming out of drought, and four levels of drought: moderate (D1), severe (D2), extreme (D3) and exceptional (D4). It is produced jointly by the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),...
www.climatehubs.usda.govSummary of changes in drought and impacts across the CONUS for the month of September.
www.ncei.noaa.govThe U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) is a map that shows the location and intensity of drought across the country.
data.news-leader.comATTENTION: Consistent messaging is a vital part of the Climate Prediction Center’s (CPC) mission to deliver climate information and products. The United States Drought Monitor (USDM) serves as initial conditions for the CPC’s drought outlooks. Due to the 7-16 day time span between releases of the Seasonal Drought Outlook (SDO) on the third Thursday of each month and Monthly Drought Outlook (MDO) on the last day of each month, large changes may occur in the USDM. Since the valid periods for the...
www.cpc.ncep.noaa.govStay informed with real-time drought data, forecasts, and planning tools at Drought.gov - your resource for understanding and preparing for droughts nationwide.
www.drought.govAccess various products showing current climate conditions, which inform the USDM map.
droughtmonitor.unl.eduSummary of changes in drought and impacts across the CONUS for the month of August.
www.ncei.noaa.gov