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: APRIL 2019
There have been few short-term drought improvements in April due to the relatively dry conditions. Minimal precipitation in the northeast and southwest quarters of the state left Abnormally Dry (D0) conditions in western Yuma, eastern Coconino, Navajo and central Apache counties. Moderate Drought (D1) continues in northern Apache County.
East central and southeastern Arizona received significant rainfall during April and abnormally dry conditions have been removed from Greenlee County. Small lakes and stock ponds are nearly full in many parts of the state. Wildfire danger is likely to increase due to the dry and windy conditions in May and June, leading to vegetation dying and becoming fine fuels. Arizona is entering its driest season and short-term drought improvements are not likely until the monsoon season begins.
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: January - March 2019
The State received significant amount of rain and snow from January through March. The well-above average snowpack and streamflow has led to a reduction of Exceptional Drought (D4), Extreme Drought (D3), and Severe Drought (D2) in Northeastern, Eastern, and Central Arizona.
Higher than normal levels of snowpack accumulated in the Upper Colorado River Basin this Winter. Consequently, increased streamflow is expected in Colorado River Tributaries as snow continues to melt. There has also been a significant increase in the Salt-Verde reservoir system. While continued precipitation in May is unlikely, the runoff season will continue well into the summer.
Long-term drought conditions are slow to improve because it takes time for snowpack runoff and streamflow to find its way into the aquifers and groundwater basins. Furthermore, full recovery will require several years of above average precipitation because hydrologic drought has been a long-lasting issue in the West. Although weak El Niño conditions will persist into the summer, lighter wind patterns yield little impact from El Niño events. Thus, the late spring will likely be typically dry, but there is no indication of a wetter or drier Monsoon season.
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.