Drought
Extreme drought felt by many U.S. communities has far-reaching economic and health impacts on water for people, agriculture, industry, and the nation’s natural resources. Land and water managers use USGS science to better understand the complex interactions that determine the magnitude and impact of drought on water availability and ecosystems.
Integrated Drought Science
Integrated Drought Science
Our drought science plan focuses on data collection and integration, understanding drought processes and impacts, and drought planning and decision support.
Droughts: Things to Know
Droughts: Things to Know
What is a drought? What causes droughts? Why doesn't a drought go away when it rains? Get the answers to these questions and more.
Looking for data?
Looking for data?
Drought-related data catalogs and portals are listed below. If applicable, the links will pre-populate a search for drought on each site.
News
Drought Watch/Warning Declared for 35 Pennsylvania Counties
Drought Watch/Warning Declared for 35 Pennsylvania Counties
RAMPS Newsletter - Spring 2024
RAMPS Newsletter - Spring 2024
Drought Watch/Warning Lifted for all Pennsylvania Counties
Drought Watch/Warning Lifted for all Pennsylvania Counties
Publications
A hydrologic perspective of major U.S. droughts
Drought is a recurring natural hazard that has substantial human and environmental impacts. Given continued global warming and associated climate change, there is concern that droughts could become more severe and longer lasting. To better monitor and understand drought development and persistence, it is helpful to understand the development and climatic drivers of past droughts. In this...
Going beyond low flows: Streamflow drought deficit and duration illuminate distinct spatiotemporal drought patterns and trends in the U.S. during the last century
Streamflow drought is a recurring challenge, and understanding spatiotemporal patterns of past droughts is needed to manage future water resources. We examined regional patterns in streamflow drought metrics and compared these metrics to low flow timing and magnitude using long-term daily records for 555 minimally disturbed watersheds. For each streamgage, we calculated streamflow...
Tree rings reveal unmatched 2nd century drought in the Colorado River Basin
The ongoing 22 year drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) has been extremely severe, even in the context of the longest available tree-ring reconstruction of annual flow at Lees Ferry, Arizona, dating back to 762 CE. While many southwestern drought assessments have been limited to the past 1200 years, longer paleorecords of moisture variability do exist for the UCRB. Here...
Science
Drought Prediction Science
Drought is a prolonged and widespread deficit in available water supplies that creates multiple stressors across ecosystems and communities. The U.S. Geological Survey Water Mission Area conducts drought research and modeling to improve drought prediction capabilities. The research focus is on understanding the hydrological, ecological, and economic ramifications of drought. The modeling focus...
Drylands are highly vulnerable to climate and land use changes: what ecosystem changes are in store?
Improper land use during drought has been a major driver of land degradation in drylands globally, especially in the western U.S. Increasing aridity in western U.S. drylands under future climates will exacerbate risks associated with drought and land use decisions. This project provides critical observational, experimental, and modelling evidence to support our DOI partners with decision processes...
Real-time and Historical Data
These pages provide access to water-resources data collected at approximately 1.9 million sites in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Online access to this data is organized around the categories listed at the bottom. The USGS investigates the occurrence, quantity, quality...