Drought Information Statement for southeast Mississippi, southwest Alabama, and the western Florida Panhandle Valid: April 9, 2026 This product will be updated May 7, 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) OVER HALF OF THE LOCAL AREA IN HIGH INTENSITY DROUGHT Over 60% of the local area remains in the grip of severe to extreme drought. 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 Greenville to Luverne to Brewton Alabama. D2 (Severe Drought): East of a line from Pineapple to Claiborne to Atmore to Fairhope Alabama including all of the northwest Florida Panhandle. Within an area from Tibbie Alabama to Janice Mississippi to Citronelle Alabama. D1 (Moderate Drought): Much of the remainder of southwest Alabama. D0: (Abnormally Dry): Along and northwest of a line from New Augusta to State Line Mississippi. 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: The local 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 river and/or stream points are below to much below normal over the local area. 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. In many cases, some waterways will not be navigable due to low stages. 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. Many counties declared natural disaster areas due to persistent high intensity drought. Fire Hazard Impacts Wildland fire potential remains significant. Outdoor burning is strongly discouraged until conditions improve. Know the law before you burn as fines will likely be levied if knowingly and willfully burning while a burn ban is in effect. 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: Local waterway flows are at below to much below normal levels and in some cases down into record low flows. 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. Cases where some waterways will not be navigable due to low stages cannot be ruled out. Agricultural Impacts Summary of conditions and impacts: As of April 8th, soils are parched over the southeast U.S. and Deep South ranking in the very low 1 to 5 percentile. This leads to poor crop health, elevated risk of disease, and insect damage. Supplemental feeding required to maintain livestock. The USDA has declared 30 counties in the state of Alabama as natural disaster areas. Declared counties are eligible for emergency funding assistance. Please reach out to your local USDA office for details. 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 April suggests that the Mid-Atlantic, southeast, and westward across the Lower Mississippi River Valley remains above normal potential for significant wildland fire potential. Outdoor burning is strongly discouraged. Know the law before burning. Fines will be levied if knowingly and willfully violating a burn ban order. 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: With no rainfall expected over the central Gulf coast the next 7 days, drought conditions will persist or possibly worsen. Long-Range Outlooks Summary of conditions and impacts: Looking ahead, the outlook for needed rainfall to alleviate drought conditions remains slim through the end of April. As we move into the early half of the summer, there are indications that rainfall will begin to lean above normal. 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 may begin to loosen its grip by the end of the first half of summer with the outlook calling for improvements.