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: JUNE 2021
Despite moderate amounts of precipitation across the state in June, short-term drought severity increased, with approximately 89% of the state reaching Extreme (D3 at 32%) or Exceptional (D4 at 58%) drought conditions. The only portion of the state that remained Abnormally Dry (D0 at 1%) was the lowest area of the southern Yuma County border and a slight portion of southwestern Pima County. Yavapai County fully reached Extreme drought, as did the southern Coconino County border.
The 3-month (July, August, September) precipitation outlook for the monsoon season shows equal chances for above, below, or near-normal precipitation amounts possible. While summer precipitation does not typically alleviate long-term drought conditions, it is possible to see some short-term improvement.
This report was prepared by the Arizona Drought Monitoring Technical Committee on July 13, 2021. Arizona's short-term drought status map is updated during the first week of each month.
Quarterly Drought Status Update: APRIL-JUNE 2021
The long-term drought has intensified and expanded across the state. Severe (D2) drought spread across southern La Paz County and southeastern Cochise County, with little Moderate (D1) drought remaining anywhere across the state.
Extreme (D3) drought spread through southeastern Yuma County, southwestern Maricopa County, southern Navajo and Apache Counties, north-central Cochise County, and much of Santa Cruz County.
Exceptional (D4) drought expanded into much of Mohave County, western Coconino County, north-central Navajo and Apache Counties, with some deepening in Pinal, Graham, and Greenlee Counties.
A La Niña Watch has been issued for the upcoming fall and winter, potentially resulting in another cool season of below average precipitation.
This report was prepared by the Arizona Drought Monitoring Technical Committee, July 13, 2021. Arizona's long-term drought status map is updated quarterly and the next update in early October, it will reflect the conditions of July, August and September. The long-term drought status for each watershed is determined by comparing the precipitation and streamflow percentiles for the past 24, 36, 48 and 60 months to a 40-year historical record.