Drought Information Statement for southeast Mississippi, southwest Alabama, and the western Florida Panhandle Valid: March 12, 2026 This product will be updated April 9, 2026 (or sooner) if drought conditions change significantly All currently available products: drought.gov/drought-information-statements (https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements) Previous local statements: weather.gov/mob/DroughtInformationStatement (https://www.weather.gov/mob/DroughtInformationStatement) Regional Drought Status Updates: https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates (https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates) NEARLY HALF OF THE LOCAL AREA IN HIGH INTENSITY DROUGHT Extreme drought holds over portions of interior southwest Alabama. Severe drought changes little over much of southwest Alabama into portions of the northwest Florida Panhandle. U.S. Drought Monitor Latest U.S. Drought Monitor (https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/png/current/current_huc03_trd.png) for the Southeast US and central Gulf Coast Drought Intensity and Extent: D3 (Extreme Drought): Within an area from Monroeville to Brewton to Georgiana Alabama. D2 (Severe Drought): Along and east of a line from Pineapple to Claiborne to Atmore Alabama to Milton to Ft. Walton Beach Florida. Central Greene County Mississippi and southwest Washington County in Alabama. D1 (Moderate Drought): Much of Choctaw County in Alabama. Southeast of a line from Camden Alabama to McLain Mississippi including the remainder of southwest Alabama and the northwest Florida Panhandle. D0: (Abnormally Dry): The remainder of the local area. Recent Change in Drought Intensity Latest 1-week change map (https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/chng/png/current/current_huc03_chng_1W.png) for the Southeast US and central Gulf Coast One Week Drought Monitor Class Change: No Change: Much of the area saw no change. Precipitation Summary of conditions and impacts: Over the past month, much of the local area continues to see large swaths of deficits from 25 to 50% of normal rainfall for the 30-Day period. Summary of Impacts See Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) (https://droughtimpacts.unl.edu/Tools/ConditionMonitoringObservations.aspx) and Drought Impacts Reporter (https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/46afe627bb60422f85944d70069c09cf) Hydrologic Impacts The US Geological Survey (USGS) indicates stages on many local river and/or stream points are normal over the western sections of the local area and below to much below normal over the eastern sections. Rivers and streams that are experiencing low water levels, will likely result in what is typically deeply submerged objects being likely closer to the water’s surface or in some cases completely exposed, presenting a greatly increased waterway hazard for safe recreational boating and commercial navigation. Agricultural Impacts Crop condition in the driest of areas is very poor. Crop disease and insect damage elevated. Supplemental feeding is required to maintain livestock condition. Hardness of ground increases difficulty of plowing, resulting in a higher frequency of plow blades becoming dull adding to the expense for change outs. Fire Hazard Impacts In the event of strong cold frontal passages, periods of critically low daytime humidity in combination with gusty northerly winds will bring periods of increased wildfire potential. Outdoor burning is strongly discouraged until conditions improve. Know the law before you burn. Mitigation Actions Water conservation techniques are strongly encouraged in drought areas. Please refer to your municipality and/or your water provider for mitigation information. Local water restriction ordinances may be in place. Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts Summary of conditions and impacts: Recent beneficial rains has resulted in improvements in streamflows over southeast MS and portions of southwest AL. Many rivers and streams over the I-65 corridor over interior southwest and south-central AL, extending southward over northwest FL remain at below to much below normal stage levels. Rivers and streams that are experiencing low water levels will likely result in what is typically deeply submerged objects being likely closer to the water’s surface or in some cases completely exposed. Waterway hazards are increased for safe recreational boating and commercial navigation. Agricultural Impacts Summary of conditions and impacts: As of March 11th, soil conditions were very dry over the southeast U.S. and Deep South. This leads to poor crop health, elevated risk of disease, and insect damage. Supplemental feeding required to maintain livestock. Hardness of ground increases difficulty of plowing, resulting in a higher frequency of plow blades becoming dull adding to the expense for change outs. It is recommended that farmers reach out to local USDA office for details on available funding assistance. Fire Hazard Impacts Wildfire Potential Outlooks (https://www.nifc.gov/nicc/predictive-services/outlooks) from the National Interagency Coordination Center Summary of conditions and impacts: The outlook for the remainder of March suggests that the Mid-Atlantic, southeast, and westward across the Lower Mississippi River Valley will be above normal for significant wildland fire potential. It’s important to note that in the event of strong cold frontal passages, periods of critically low daytime humidity in combination with gusty northerly winds will bring periods of increased wildfire potential. Know the law before burning. Latest Burn Bans and/or Advisories By State: Mississippi: https://www.mfc.ms.gov/ (https://www.mfc.ms.gov/) Alabama: https://forestry.alabama.gov/ (https://forestry.alabama.gov/) Florida: https://www.fdacs.gov/Forest-Wildfire/Wildland-Fire (https://www.fdacs.gov/Forest-Wildfire/Wildland-Fire) 7-Day Precipitation Forecast Summary of conditions and impacts: Rainfall the next 7 days looks to be light with little change in local drought intensity. Long-Range Outlooks Summary of conditions and impacts: Looking ahead, the outlook for needed rainfall to alleviate drought conditions remains slim at best through the end of March. Equal chances of above or below normal precipitation is favored over the deep south through May 2026. Latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC (https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/) webpage Drought Outlook Latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC (https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/) webpage Summary of conditions and impacts: Drought conditions look to persist the next three months mainly along and east of the I-65 corridor, southward to the much of the Gulf coastal counties. West of I-65, there are some indications favoring a potential improvement through the end of May.