US drought this week
On the US Drought Monitor map for October 27, 2026, 49.5% of the contiguous United States was in drought, and 11.0% was in extreme or exceptional drought. That's down 1.2 points from 50.7% the week before. 43 states (counting DC) had some area in drought, and all of Maine was.
Share of the contiguous US in each category or worse.
Week by week
Share of the contiguous US in drought (D1 or worse), by weekly map.
Every state
Share of each state's area in each category or worse, on the map for October 27, 2026. Change is the drought share (D1+) against the week before.
| State | Drought (D1+) | Severe (D2+) | Extreme (D3+) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | 100.0% | 55.4% | 3.6% | – |
| Arkansas | 96.5% | 91.3% | 80.4% | +2.0 |
| Nevada | 94.8% | 15.2% | 3.8% | −1.0 |
| Utah | 91.2% | 51.1% | 13.5% | −0.1 |
| Louisiana | 88.7% | 78.8% | 51.4% | +0.1 |
| Oregon | 88.3% | 57.6% | 20.1% | – |
| Mississippi | 88.1% | 79.0% | 28.8% | +3.5 |
| Oklahoma | 87.3% | 66.6% | 26.2% | −1.9 |
| Wyoming | 85.2% | 52.0% | 18.6% | −0.4 |
| Tennessee | 70.9% | 59.2% | 38.6% | +6.6 |
| Texas | 67.6% | 43.3% | 10.6% | −2.6 |
| Idaho | 65.6% | 47.9% | 18.8% | −0.2 |
| Minnesota | 62.6% | 27.0% | 2.5% | – |
| North Carolina | 62.2% | 32.3% | 2.4% | +12.6 |
| Washington | 61.5% | 23.6% | 4.4% | – |
| North Dakota | 52.5% | 31.0% | 6.4% | – |
| South Dakota | 52.1% | 9.0% | 0.3% | −9.2 |
| Wisconsin | 51.9% | 43.5% | 22.0% | – |
| New Mexico | 51.8% | 21.5% | 3.2% | −8.7 |
| Colorado | 49.7% | 28.5% | 12.6% | −11.4 |
| Missouri | 47.2% | 34.6% | 16.6% | +2.2 |
| South Carolina | 45.1% | 26.7% | 0.0% | +0.3 |
| Puerto Rico | 42.9% | 22.9% | 7.2% | −0.6 |
| Michigan | 35.5% | 25.6% | 5.5% | +8.1 |
| Nebraska | 35.3% | 12.2% | 5.2% | −8.0 |
| Alabama | 34.4% | 14.7% | 1.5% | +1.2 |
| Arizona | 33.6% | 6.0% | 0.0% | −7.5 |
| New Hampshire | 32.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% | – |
| Illinois | 29.3% | 4.0% | 0.0% | +5.4 |
| Virginia | 25.3% | 13.8% | 2.3% | +0.8 |
| Florida | 23.9% | 4.2% | 0.0% | – |
| Georgia | 22.6% | 5.1% | 0.0% | +1.5 |
| Kansas | 21.2% | 4.9% | 0.0% | −1.8 |
| Montana | 19.2% | 11.4% | 4.9% | −1.3 |
| California | 18.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% | −4.9 |
| Maryland | 17.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | – |
| Indiana | 16.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% | +16.3 |
| Kentucky | 16.3% | 2.3% | 0.0% | +2.6 |
| Vermont | 14.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% | – |
| Delaware | 10.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% | – |
| Massachusetts | 3.9% | 0.0% | 0.0% | – |
| New York | 1.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% | – |
| Pennsylvania | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% | – |
| West Virginia | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | – |
| Alaska | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | −0.7 |
| Connecticut | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | – |
| District of Columbia | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | – |
| Hawaii | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | – |
| Iowa | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | – |
| New Jersey | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | – |
| Ohio | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | – |
| Rhode Island | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | – |
What drought means at home
Drought shows up for households as watering restrictions, higher wildfire risk and, for homes on a private well, a falling water table. Your water utility or county announces any restrictions. If you're on a well, the time to plan is before it runs low: keep a few days of drinking water stored, a gallon per person per day as FEMA advises. Water storage compared · Live weather alerts · Wildfires now.
Questions
How much of the US is in drought right now?
On the US Drought Monitor map for October 27, 2026, 49.5% of the contiguous United States was in drought (category D1 or worse), and another 23.2% was abnormally dry. That's down 1.2 points from 50.7% the week before.
Which states are in the worst drought?
By the share of the state in extreme or exceptional drought (D3–D4): Arkansas (117.4%), Louisiana (63.3%), Tennessee (40.0%), Oklahoma (33.3%), Mississippi (32.4%), on the map for October 27, 2026.
How often is the drought map updated?
The US Drought Monitor is released every Thursday, for a map dated the Tuesday before. It is produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with USDA and NOAA. This page reads it twice a day.
What do the drought categories mean?
D0 is abnormally dry, short of drought. D1 moderate, D2 severe, D3 extreme and D4 exceptional drought, each based on rainfall, soil moisture, streamflow and other indicators, and on local reports. Each category includes the ones worse than it.
Source: US Drought Monitor (National Drought Mitigation Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with USDA and NOAA), map for October 27, 2026. The US Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the US Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.