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What this means
The five categories the Drought Monitor draws, and how the map is made.
- D0 Abnormally dry
- Going into or coming out of drought.
- D1 Moderate drought
- Some damage to crops and pastures; water shortages developing.
- D2 Severe drought
- Crop or pasture losses likely; water restrictions imposed.
- D3 Extreme drought
- Major crop and pasture losses; widespread water shortages.
- D4 Exceptional drought
- Exceptional and widespread losses; water emergencies.
The US Drought Monitor is drawn every week by authors at the National Drought Mitigation Center, USDA and NOAA, who weigh rainfall, soil moisture, streamflow, groundwater, vegetation health and reports from local observers. Each map shows conditions through Tuesday morning and is released on Thursday. It shows where drought is and how bad it is; it does not forecast it. CPC's outlooks do that.
Sources
Statistics and narrative from the US Drought Monitor, courtesy of the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with USDA and NOAA. Outlooks from the NOAA Climate Prediction Center. Impacts from NDMC's State Impacts tool.