March 2026 was the warmest March on record in the contiguous U.S., and the period from April 2025 to March 2026 was the warmest 12-month span recorded since 1895! The last 90 days were also the driest on record, breaking the previous record set in 1910. While this week has been more soggy and stormy throughout the U.S., the drought depiction shows mixed results.

West

Despite some rain and mountain snow, conditions continue to deteriorate across the West this week. The snowpack conditions remain extremely poor, with the remaining snowpack primarily restricted to the highest elevations.

In Washington state, the Department of Ecology issued a statewide emergency drought declaration as projected water supplies are expected to be well below normal levels. In the Colorado River Basin, Lake Powell is currently at 24% full, while Lake Mead is 33%. Very dry conditions were observed during the past 30-day period, with record or near-record dryness in Eugene and Medford, Ore., Crescent City, Mount Shasta, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Diego, Calif.

Some localized improvements were made in northern Montana, where moderate to extreme drought (D1-D3) contracted.

Severe to extreme drought (D2-D3) expanded throughout much of New Mexico, while abnormal dryness to severe drought (D0-D2) worsened across southern Oregon and western/northern Nevada. Severe drought (D2) also increased across southwestern Montana into southeastern Idaho. Moderate drought (D1) expanded from southwestern Oregon into northwestern California, while a new area of moderate drought was added to eastern California in the Sierra Nevada region. Northern California as well as the rest of the Sierra Nevada and far southern California also now have abnormally dry conditions.

High Plains

There were the haves and the have-nots in terms of precipitation throughout the High Plains region this week. Several low pressure systems moved across the region. This brought precipitation to the Rockies and northern Plains, while the central and southern High Plains stayed relatively dry. Snow occurred in the mountains of Wyoming and Colorado, while rain or a wintry mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain fell elsewhere. Given the varied precipitation, a mix of improvements and degradations were made to the drought depiction.

Southwestern Colorado saw extreme drought (D3) contract slightly, while eastern Nebraska have both severe and moderate drought (D2-D3) improve. Eastern Kansas saw moderate and severe drought (D1-D2) contract, while abnormal dryness decreased in northeastern Kansas. Abnormal dryness (D0) was removed from east-central North Dakota.

In contrast, a large area of Exceptional Drought (D4) persisted across northwest Colorado. Extreme drought (D3) worsened in northeastern Colorado. Extreme drought (D3) also expanded slightly in southwestern South Dakota. Moderate to severe drought (D1-D2) expanded in northwestern and central Wyoming and eastern Colorado, while abnormal dryness and moderate drought (D0-D1) increased across western and central Kansas.

Several locations reported their driest 60-day period on record, including Dodge City, Goodland and Manhattan, Kan. In terms of hydrologic conditions, the U.S. Geological Survey is reporting below to much below normal streamflows across southwestern South Dakota, southern Nebraska and central/western Kansas. In Colorado, the snow water equivalent is currently the lowest on record. Typically, the peak snow water equivalent occurs on April 8. However, the peak this year occurred on March 8.

Midwest

A series of weather systems moved across the Midwest this week, which allowed for daily or almost daily chances for precipitation. The Upper Midwest generally saw a wintry mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain, while rain and some thunderstorms were seen in the Lower Midwest. Some heavy rain was observed, with northern portions of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio having the highest liquid precipitation amounts for the week. Here, precipitation totals ranged from 2 to 5 inches, allowing for two-category improvements!

Northwestern Ohio, northern Indiana and east-central Illinois were spots that saw two-category improvements this week. Most notably, severe to extreme drought (D3) was downgraded to abnormal dryness and moderate drought (D0) in northwestern Ohio. Moderate to severe drought (D1-D2) was removed from northern Indiana, with only abnormal dryness (D0) remaining.

Moderate to severe drought (D1-D2) was either removed or contracted in central Illinois, southern Iowa and far northeastern Missouri. Northern/southern Minnesota and northeastern Iowa reported reductions to abnormally dry to severe drought (D0-D2), while abnormal dryness was either removed or contracted for much of Missouri, northeastern Ohio and northeastern Wisconsin.

Degradations occurred in southern Illinois and much of Kentucky this week. Abnormal dryness and moderate drought expanded in southern Illinois. Severe drought (D2) was added to western Kentucky, with abnormal dryness and moderate drought (D0-D1) expanding across the rest of the state.

Numerous locations in the Midwest ranked among their wettest or near-wettest on record, which includes Chicago, Lake Geneva, Wis., Lafayette, Ind., Toledo, Ohio, and Saginaw, Mich.

South

Several low pressure systems and cold fronts impacted the South this week. Moderate to heavy rainfall was observed in Texas, Oklahoma and isolated areas of Louisiana. Here, rainfall amounts ranged from 3 to 6 inches. In Arkansas, some beneficial rain fell in far western portions of the state, leading to a boost in streamflow conditions. However, dry soils and significant precipitation deficits remain across the state. Tennessee also missed out on much of this moisture, so widespread degradation occurred this week.

Most notably, extreme to exceptional drought (D3-D4) contracted across southern Texas, while extreme drought (D3) improved in southern Oklahoma and north-central Texas. Severe drought shrunk in size across far western Arkansas and eastern Texas. Central and north-central Texas, southern Louisiana and southern Mississippi saw improvements to both abnormal dryness and moderate drought (D0-D1).

At the same time, there were some spots that saw abnormally dry and drought conditions worsen. Moderate and severe drought (D1-D2) expanded throughout Tennessee, while northeastern Arkansas saw extreme drought expanded (D3). Severe drought (D2) worsened in western portions of the Texas Panhandle, while abnormal dryness (D2) expanded in far southwestern Texas near El Paso.

Looking over the past 60 days, record to near-record dryness was observed throughout the region, including in Del Rio, Texas, Monticello, Ark., and Monroe, La. In Texas, reservoirs are reported to be around 74% full, with eastern reservoirs in good conditions while many western and southern reservoirs remain below normal.

Southeast

While some cold fronts and weather disturbances clipped the region, largely dry weather prevailed throughout the Southeast this week. There was some light to moderate rain in some isolated areas, where rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches fell. The drought depiction overall remained status quo or worsened this week as any rainfall was not sufficient enough to make up for mounting precipitation deficits.

Most notably, exceptional drought (D4) expanded across southern Georgia and northern Florida. North Carolina and Georgia saw expansion of severe to extreme drought (D2-D3) this week, while Virginia and South Carolina saw moderate to extreme drought (D1-D3) increase in coverage. All other areas remained status quo.

The past two months have been very dry across parts of the region, with near-record dryness observed in Gainesville and Tallahassee, Fla., Savannah Ga., Montgomery, Ala., North Charleston, S.C., and Charlotte, N.C.

Northeast

A fairly active, unsettled weather pattern occurred throughout the Northeast this week. Multiple cold fronts and weather systems pushed across the region, bringing daily or almost daily chances for precipitation. Though, the last few days of the monitoring period did dry out some. With temperatures remaining above average, any snow or wintry precipitation was generally limited to higher elevations and areas along the U.S.-Canada border. The rest of the region generally just saw rain showers.

In response to precipitation this week and overall improving conditions over the past 30 to 60 days, much of the drought depiction either improved or remained status quo this week. Precipitation has been near to above normal across Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and western Massachusetts, where liquid precipitation amounts were 110 to 200+% of normal! The one exception is across areas of Maine, which continued to see precipitation deficits ranging from 1 to 4 inches. Snowpack continues to decline seasonally. Snow cover is now around 61% compared to 91% last month.

Most notably, an area of extreme drought (D3) was removed from southwestern Maine. Improvements were also made to abnormal dryness (D0) in northeastern/southeastern New York, central Pennsylvania and southeastern Massachusetts, while abnormal dryness was removed from northwestern Pennsylvania.

Conversely, a small area of abnormal dryness (D0) was added to eastern West Virginia given mounting precipitation deficits.

Looking Ahead

Looking ahead to the next drought outlook, the western two-thirds of the U.S. looks to be soggy and unsettled, while the East dries out. An upper-level weather system will slowly approach the Western U.S. for the first half of the forecast period, before moving into the West for the second half of the period. Throughout the entire period, a good amount of Pacific moisture will be transferred into the Western U.S., resulting in generally rain showers but the tallest peaks could have some wet snow. At the same time, a cold front will be draped from the Central U.S. into the Northeast. This will also translate into daily or almost daily chances of rain, though some wintry precipitation cannot be ruled out. The rest of the Eastern U.S. will stay largely dry.

Widespread rainfall across the eastern Southern Plains, Midwest, and Northeast, generally totaling 1 to 4 inches. The heaviest amounts are expected along a corridor stretching from eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas through the Mid-Mississippi Valley into the eastern Upper Midwest. In contrast, much of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic will remain very dry, with little to no rainfall except for isolated parts of eastern Florida, where totals could reach 2 to 3 inches.

The High Plains are expected to see lighter precipitation, ranging from about 0.25 to 1.5 inches, with higher amounts toward the eastern edge of the region. In the West, moderate to heavy precipitation is forecast for parts of California and the northern and central Rockies, especially the central and northern Sierra Nevada and coastal ranges. Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest will receive lighter to moderate precipitation, and dry conditions will dominate much of the Southwest, including southern Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and southeastern California.

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Source: U.S. Drought Monitor

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