Arctic Air Spreads South and East from Rockies Friday through Next Week

Arctic air is plunging across the Rockies and Great Plains and will reach the Deep South and Great Lakes Saturday night, and the Eastern Seaboard by Sunday night, bringing dangerously cold wind chill temperatures. Snow and heavy winds could produce blizzard conditions in the Northern Plains Friday. There is a wintry mix expected in the Midwest/Northeast and rain for the Southeast into Saturday. Read More >

Overview

This page provides a variety of information related to drought.

Current Drought Maps
Change Maps
Local Drought Statement
Past Precipitation
Forecast Precipitation
Soil Moisture
Streamflow
Drought Indicies
Drought Outlooks
Climate Outlooks
County Browser
Other Resources

Current Drought Maps

https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/png/current/current_wfooax_trd.png		The categories of drought are defined as follows: Abnormally Dry (D0) - Going into drought: short-term dryness slowing planting, growth of crops or pastures; fire risk above average. Coming out of drought: some lingering water deficits; pastures or crops not fully recovered. Moderate Drought (D1) - Some damage to crops, pastures; fire risk high; streams, reservoirs, or wells low, some water shortages developing or imminent, voluntary water use restrictions requested. Severe Drought (D2) - Crop or pasture losses likely; fire risk very high; water shortages common; water restrictions imposed. Extreme Drought (D3) - Major crop/pasture losses; extreme fire danger; widespread water shortages or restrictions. Exceptional Drought (D4) - Exceptional and widespread crop/pasture losses; exceptional fire risk; shortages of water in reservoirs, streams, and wells, creating water emergencies.
Nebraska	Iowa

The U.S. Drought Monitor is a weekly collaborative effort between a number of federal agencies including NOAA/NWS, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, and the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Local Drought Statement
National Drought Statements
U.S. Drought Monitor

Drought Change Maps

https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/png/current/current_wfooax_trd.png		The categories of drought are defined as follows: Abnormally Dry (D0) - Going into drought: short-term dryness slowing planting, growth of crops or pastures; fire risk above average. Coming out of drought: some lingering water deficits; pastures or crops not fully recovered. Moderate Drought (D1) - Some damage to crops, pastures; fire risk high; streams, reservoirs, or wells low, some water shortages developing or imminent, voluntary water use restrictions requested. Severe Drought (D2) - Crop or pasture losses likely; fire risk very high; water shortages common; water restrictions imposed. Extreme Drought (D3) - Major crop/pasture losses; extreme fire danger; widespread water shortages or restrictions. Exceptional Drought (D4) - Exceptional and widespread crop/pasture losses; exceptional fire risk; shortages of water in reservoirs, streams, and wells, creating water emergencies.
1 Week Change	4 Week Change
8 Week Change	12 Week Change
26 Week Change	52 Week Change

Local Drought Statement

Past Precipitation

Click the image to enlarge.

	Precipitation	Departure from Normal	Percent of Normal
7 days
14 days
30 days
60 days
90 days
Standardized Precipitation Index

Data courtesy High Plains Climate Center

Forecast Precipitation

Click the image to enlarge.

Day 1	Day 2
Day 3	Days 4-5
Days 6-7	7 Day Total
Days 6-10	Days 8-14

Soil Moisture

The maps show the departure from normal 30-year climatology.

Soil Moisture Outlooks

Streamflow

Click the image to enlarge.

The real-time streamflow map tracks short-term changes (over several hours) in rivers and streams. The daily streamflow map shows average streamflow conditions for the previous day. The 7, 14, and 28 day streamflow maps below show the average streamflow conditions, and are more indicative of longer-term streamflow conditions than either the real-time or the daily streamflow maps. The maps depict average streamflow conditions as computed at USGS streamgages. The colors represent average streamflow compared to percentiles of historical average streamflow for the day of the year. Only streamgages having at least 30 years of record are used.

Real Time
Daily
7 Day
14 Day
28 Day

Data courtesy United States Geological Survey

Drought Indices

National Drought Mitigation Center Data

Drought Outlooks

Click the image to enlarge.

Monthly Drought Outlook

Seasonal Drought Outlook

Climate Outlooks

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Weeks 3-4 Temperature	Weeks 3-4 Precipitation
Monthly Temperature	Monthly Precipitation
Three Monthly Temperature	Three Monthly Precipitation