According to the December 11, 2018, U.S. Drought Monitor, moderate to exceptional drought covers 19.3% of the United States, an increase from last week’s 18.9%. The worst drought categories (extreme to exceptional drought) decreased slightly from 3.2% last week to 3.1% this week.
Abnormal dryness and drought are currently affecting over 78 million people across the United States—about 25% of the country’s population.
The full U.S. Drought Monitor weekly update is available from Drought.gov.
In addition to Drought.gov, you can find additional information on the current drought as well as this week’s Drought Monitor update at the National Drought Mitigation Center.
The most recent U.S. Drought Outlook is available from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center and the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides information about the drought’s influence on crops and livestock.
For additional drought information, follow #DroughtMonitor on Facebook and Twitter.
