Protecting & enhancing Arizona’s water supplies for current and future generations.
Drought Status
Drought Status
Drought Status
The Arizona Drought Monitoring Technical Committee confers weekly to advise the U.S. Drought Monitor authors on the current drought conditions in Arizona, and makes recommendations about the position of the drought boundaries for Arizona. The U.S. Drought Monitor is the official record of drought for Federal drought relief claims. Information used by the MTC in advising the Drought Monitor authors includes numerous drought indices, precipitation and stream flow data, and impacts data. Every Thursday, the Drought Status web page automatically updates with the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map of Arizona.
Monthly Drought Status Summary: December 2018
December was drier than average for most of the state, except south central and southeastern Arizona. Half a dozen storm systems moved through the state, but rain and snowfall totals were low.
Severe Drought (D2) eased in Western La Paz County while some areas within Pima, southern Maricopa and southern Pinal counties improved from Abnormally Dry (D0) to No Drought.
The Four Corners area remains in Exceptional Drought (D4) and Extreme Drought (D3). Further relief in drought conditions are anticipated next week as another winter storm is moving toward the state.
The weak to moderate El Niño is expected to continue through March, which should bring slightly wetter than average conditions this winter. The seasonal outlook also calls for warmer than normal temperatures, which may affect the snow levels.
At the end of each month, the MTC produces the web-based, short-term drought status update based on U.S. Drought Monitor's maps for the past four weeks. An email with the latest map and summary is sent to interested parties.
Quarterly Drought Status Update: July - September 2018
Precipitation during the monsoon months of July, August, and September was either near average or slightly drier than average and did not alleviate long-term drought conditions.
Northeastern Arizona had a drier than average summer, leading to a widespread expansion of Exceptional Drought. Additional expansion of Exceptional and Extreme Drought occurred in southeastern Arizona due to the long-term drought impact on water resources. The summer was quite hot, and the monsoon did not significantly improve groundwater conditions or raise reservoir levels due to high evaporation rates.
If the weak El Niño persists through the winter and snowpack begins accumulating while the soil is still wet, there may be some improvement in the long-term drought conditions. The recent wet October, which was not included in this long-term drought status, is a step in the right direction.
This report was prepared by the Arizona Drought Monitoring Technical Committee, November 2, 2018. Arizona's long-term drought status map is updated quarterly and the next update in early January will reflect the conditions of October, November and December. The long-term drought status for each watershed is determined by comparing the precipitation and streamflow percentiles for the past 24, 36 and 48 months to a 40-year historical record.