This week’s drought map shows improvements in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio after 2 to 5 inches of rain fell across the region. Similar rainfall in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana helped ease drought in those states, though dry soils and precipitation deficits remain a concern in Arkansas. Meanwhile, drought conditions expanded in the Southeast, with exceptional drought intensifying in northern Florida and southern Georgia due to prolonged dryness and poor soil moisture. The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The West continues to struggle despite some mountain precipitation. Snowpack levels remain critically low across the region, with California’s statewide snowpack at just 16% of normal. Colorado’s snow water equivalent is at a record low, and the peak snowpack occurred a month earlier than usual. Water reservoirs in the Colorado River Basin are also at historic lows, with Lake Powell at 24% full and Lake Mead at 33%.
Temperatures across the contiguous U.S. were notably high in March, marking the warmest March on record with averages 9.4 degrees above the 20th-century norm. The 12-month period from April 2025 to March 2026 was also the warmest on record. Meanwhile, the January to March period was the driest on record for the lower 48 states.
In the Southeast, cities like Gainesville, Tallahassee, Savannah and Montgomery have experienced near-record dryness over the past two months. Above-normal temperatures ranging from 5 to 15 degrees above average have worsened drought impacts in the region.
The High Plains saw some relief with 1 to 4 inches of rain in eastern Kansas and Nebraska, but conditions deteriorated in western Kansas and southwestern South Dakota. Temperatures in the region were below normal, especially in the Dakotas.
Looking ahead, the National Weather Service forecasts 1 to 4 inches of rain across the Southern Plains, Midwest and Northeast over the next week, with dry conditions expected to persist in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Above-normal temperatures are predicted across most of the country, except for cooler conditions near the U.S.-Canada border.
