Water Resources Center

National Drought Condtions

The data cutoff for Drought Monitor maps is Tuesday at 7 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. The maps, which are based on analysis of the data, are released each Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

NOTE: To view regional drought conditions, click on map below. State maps can be accessed from regional maps.

Image provided by:  NOAA and USDA

The Missouri DAC feeds information to the National Drought Assessment Center. Here are some national summaries of conditions.

• NASA MOSAIC soil moisture model
• NOAA - National Weather Service Precipitation Analysis
• NOAA - National Weather Service Graphical Forecasts - CONUS Area
• Fire Danger Maps and Keetch-Byram Index Map - USDA Forest Service
• Past 24 hours of Precipitation - U.S. Climate Prediction Center
• The Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin: A joint U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture publication. This bulletin reports on U.S. weather and crop status for the past week as well as growing conditions around the world. The bulletin is published on Tuesday.
• The National Weather and Climate Center: provides climatic data, climate reports and wetlands climate table documentation for the U.S.
• U.S. Climate at a Glance: The National Climatic Data Center provides national, regional, state, and local temperature and precipitation maps and data.
• Current Groundwater Conditions - U.S. Geological Survey
• Daily Streamflow Condition Map - U.S. Geological Survey

• The Drought Monitor: The Drought Monitor shows which parts of the United States are suffering from various degrees of drought and accompanying text.  It is published on Thursday of each week.
• High Plains Climate Center Rainfall Maps. These maps provide current climate summary maps derived from data using the Applied Climate Information System (ACIS).
• Current Standardized Precipitation Index Maps: The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) is an available on a variety of time scales for both short-term agricultural and long-term hydrological applications. It is updated around the 15th of each month.
• NOAA
  • Palmer Drought Severity Index Map - NOAA Climate Prediction Center : The Drought Severity Index is the most commonly used drought index in the United States for assessing drought conditions. It is published weekly.
  • Pasture and Range Land Conditions - (courtesy Rich Tinker, NOAA)
  • Changes in Drought Monitor Classification (Historic Perspective, 2005) 561 KB
  • Long and Short Term Drought Indicator Blend Percentiles ( Historic Perspective for July of 1954, 1980, 2000, and 2005) 1,064 KB