The Naches River, shown here, is the main tributary of the Yakima River in Washington. Photo courtesy Oregon State University.
In the April 2026 edition of Dry Horizons:
• Drought contributes to antibiotic-resistant soil microbes
• Faster streamflows expected in the Pacific Northwest
• New tool forecasts streamflow drought
Read more: mailchi.mp/unl.edu/dry-...
#drought #drought2026 #news
Dry soils in Oglethorpe County, Georgia, on April 18, 2026. Description from CMOR user: “Planting summer annuals in March as usual but this time it hasn’t rained in five weeks an we have had days in upper 80’s. No germination on our planted pastures. We will likely have to re-buy thousands of dollars of seed and replant.”
CMOR app showing the location of the report in northeast Georgia.
This week’s CMOR photo is from Oglethorpe County, Georgia.
Submit your photos: go.unl.edu/cmor_drought
#drought #drought2026 #CMOR #Georgia #US
US Drought Monitor. Find maps, data, impacts and more to track #drought and #drought2026. Droughtmonitor.unl.edu. The orange, yellow and red colors of the U.S. Drought Monitor are in the background.
Much of the U.S. is seeing a dry start to the growing season. Learn more in our monthly drought summaries. go.unl.edu/drought-summ...
#DroughtMonitor #Drought #Drought2026
A dried-out pond and pasture, overlaid with the text “Help us see more drought.” The image is framed by a brown border with the NDMC logo and the website go.unl.edu/cmor_drought at the bottom.
Are you seeing any drought impacts in your area? Share reports to CMOR: go.unl.edu/cmor_drought
#DroughtMonitor #Drought #Drought2026
US Drought Monitor class change map comparing conditions from April 14 to April 7. For more information and statistics, visit https://go.unl.edu/change-maps
Parts of the Southeast, South and West saw degradations this week, with improvements in Florida, Texas and California.
The Northeast, Midwest, High Plains and West saw mixed conditions. Hawaii saw improvement.
See more change maps: go.unl.edu/change-maps
#DroughtMonitor #Drought #Drought2026
Monitor de sequía de EE. UU. que muestra las condiciones para el 16 de abril de 2026. Para obtener más información, visite droughtmonitor.unl.edu.
Monitor de Sequía de los Estados Unidos
Mapa publicado: abril 16, 2026
#DroughtMonitor #Drought #Drought2026 #Espanol
US Drought Monitor showing conditions for April 16, 2026. For more information and drought statistics, visit droughtmonitor.unl.edu.
U.S. Drought Monitor April 16, 2026
For the 50 states and Puerto Rico, the U.S. Drought Monitor shows 51% in moderate drought or worse, compared to 50.18% last week.
#DroughtMonitor #Drought #Drought2026
A small group of cattle sit near a body of water in a field that has brown and dry grass, with mountains in the distance.
CMOR app showing the location of the report in western Wyoming.
This week’s CMOR photo is from Sublette County, Wyoming.
“This is a photo of one of our pastures April 10th. Normally these cattle would still be standing in a foot of snow this time of year.”
Submit your photos: go.unl.edu/cmor_drought
#drought #drought2026 #US #photos #Wyoming
BNSF Railway ES44C4 No. 4213 hauls an intermodal train near Greenland, Colorado, on March 21, 2026, with Larkspur Butte in the background. Photo by Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Some of the states with the most drought impacts in March included Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida and Kansas.
Read more in the March drought impacts summary: go.unl.edu/kryz
#drought #drought2026 #USA #March2026
The Cosumnes River Preserve, shown here on March 10, 2026, is home to California’s largest remaining valley oak riparian forest. blmcalifornia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Drought or abnormal dryness grew or worsened across wide swaths of the Lower 48 in March, especially in parts of the Great Plains, West, South and Southeast.
Read more in the March drought climate summary: go.unl.edu/g3qt
#drought #drought2026 #USA #March2026
USDM Hot Topic April 9, 2026: the West. Abnormal dryness or drought increased from 86.32% to 90.26% of the West this week. Moderate drought or worse increased from 62.5% to 65.86%. Severe drought or worse increased from 31.78% to 35.38%. Extreme drought or worse increased from 12.5% to 12.74%. Exceptional drought remained at 2.22%. The graphic includes the Drought Monitor map for the West and the Drought Monitor time series for January 1, 2020 through April 9, 2026. For more statistics, please refer to the US Drought Monitor website: droughtmonitor.unl.edu.
With only modest precipitation in areas of the #West this week, drought and dryness intensified due to critically low snowpack. On April 8, the Washington Department of Ecology issued a statewide emergency #drought declaration as projected water supplies are expected to be well below normal levels.
This week, drought and dryness worsened across areas of the West, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic. Meanwhile, rainfall over the past week led to improvements in drought-affected areas of the South, Plains, and Midwest.
#USDroughtMonitor #drought #drought2026
US Drought Monitor. Find maps, data, impacts and more to track #drought and #drought2026. Droughtmonitor.unl.edu. The orange, yellow and red colors of the U.S. Drought Monitor are in the background.
Find educational resources, tutorials and more on our website. drought.unl.edu/Education.aspx
#DroughtMonitor #Drought #Drought2026
A dry sunflower field, overlaid with the text “Help us see more drought.” The image is framed by a brown border with the NDMC logo and the website go.unl.edu/cmor_drought at the bottom.
Are you seeing any drought impacts in your area? Share reports to CMOR: go.unl.edu/cmor_drought
#DroughtMonitor #Drought #Drought2026
US Drought Monitor class change map comparing conditions from April 7 to March 31. Parts of the Midwest and Texas saw one- and two-category improvements this week. The Southern Plains and Northeast also saw some areas of improvement. Drought worsened through parts of the West, with some improvement in Montana and Colorado. Parts of the Southeast also saw degradation. The High Plains and Hawaii saw mixed conditions. For more information and statistics, visit https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Maps/ChangeMaps.aspx.
For a full list of this week's changes, see image description.
More change maps:
droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Maps/ChangeM...
#DroughtMonitor #Drought #Drought2026
Monitor de sequía de EE. UU. que muestra las condiciones para el 9 de abril de 2026. Para obtener más información, visite droughtmonitor.unl.edu.
Monitor de Sequía de los Estados Unidos
Mapa publicado: abril 9, 2026
#DroughtMonitor #Drought #Drought2026 #Espanol
US Drought Monitor showing conditions for April 9, 2026. For more information and drought statistics, visit droughtmonitor.unl.edu.
U.S. Drought Monitor April 9, 2026
For the 50 states and Puerto Rico, the U.S. Drought Monitor shows 50.18% in moderate drought or worse, compared to 50.07% last week.
#DroughtMonitor #Drought #Drought2026
A creek in Sharp County, Arkansas, was completely dry on April 3, 2026.
CMOR app showing the location of the report in northern Arkansas.
This week’s CMOR photo is from Sharp County, Arkansas.
“Dried up creek that old timers say they have never seen dry.”
Submit your photos: go.unl.edu/cmor_drought
#drought #drought2026 #US #CMOR #photos #citizenscience #Arkansas
Drought and dryness worsened across areas of the West, High Plains, South and Southeast this week.
The Drought Download video series uses maps, climate indicators and graphics to visualize the U.S. Drought Monitor.
#USDroughtMonitor #drought #drought2026
USDM Hot Topic April 2, 2026: Florida. Florida is completely in abnormal dryness or drought for the 12th week in a row. This week, all drought categories increased: moderate drought or worse, 99.8% to 99.51%; severe drought or worse, 90.71% to 95.03%; extreme drought or worse, 72.89% to 79.5%; and exceptional drought, 9.5% to 12.24%. For more statistics, please refer to the US Drought Monitor website: droughtmonitor.unl.edu.
Despite some rain in southern Florida this past week, aquifers, rivers and lakes continue to decline in the state. Southwest Florida has been in a water shortage, with additional restrictions set to take effect on April 3. Wildfires have also been a concern.
#Drought #Drought2026 #US #Florida
US Drought Monitor. Find maps, data, impacts and more to track #drought and #drought2026. Droughtmonitor.unl.edu. The orange, yellow and red colors of the U.S. Drought Monitor are in the background.
Our Managing Drought Risk on the Ranch website helps land managers prepare for and respond to drought: ranchdrought.unl.edu
#DroughtMonitor #Drought #Drought2026
A dry pond with reddish-brown trees in the background, overlaid with the text “Help us see more drought.” The image is framed by a brown border with the NDMC logo and the website go.unl.edu/cmor_drought at the bottom.
Are you seeing any drought impacts in your area? Share reports to CMOR: go.unl.edu/cmor_drought
#DroughtMonitor #Drought #Drought2026
US Drought Monitor class change map comparing conditions from March 31 to March 24. For more information and statistics, visit https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Maps/ChangeMaps.aspx.
Drought and dryness worsened across parts of the West, High Plains, South and Southeast, with areas of improvement in Idaho and Montana.
Conditions also improved in parts of the Midwest and Northeast, with an area of degradation in New Jersey.
#DroughtMonitor #Drought #Drought2026
Monitor de sequía de EE. UU. que muestra las condiciones para el 2 de abril de 2026. Para obtener más información, visite droughtmonitor.unl.edu.
Monitor de Sequía de los Estados Unidos
Mapa publicado: abril 2, 2026
#DroughtMonitor #Drought #Drought2026 #Espanol
US Drought Monitor showing conditions for April 2, 2026. For more information and drought statistics, visit droughtmonitor.unl.edu.
U.S. Drought Monitor April 2, 2026
For the 50 states and Puerto Rico, the U.S. Drought Monitor shows 50.07% in moderate drought or worse, compared to 46.97% last week.
#DroughtMonitor #Drought #Drought2026
Panelists including Kelsey Varisco and Deb Bathke present at the Great Plains Futures conference on April 1, 2026 in Nebraska Innovation Campus.
NDMC social scientist Kelsey Varisco and affiliated faculty Deb Bathke shared their expertise in a session at the UNL Center for Great Plains Studies Great Plains Futures conference. NDMC social science coordinator Tonya Haigh moderated.
Dust blows across a dry field where animals are grazing in Emery County, Utah, on March 25, 2026, with buttes in the distance. Description from CMOR user: “Southeastern Utah is experiencing the driest spring conditions I have seen in this area. The snowpack this year was dismal, barely reaching more than 50% SWE for the basins. The SNOTEL sites are already reading zero SWE at multiple sites across the region. When normally this time of year they are at the peak.”
Screenshot of the CMOR app showing the location of the report in central Utah.
This week’s CMOR photo is from Emery County, Utah.
Submit your photos: go.unl.edu/cmor_drought
#drought #drought2026 #US #CMOR #photos #citizenscience #Utah
This week, extreme weather events across the U.S. painted a starkly contrasting picture of drought development and relief.
Learn more: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lCE...
#USDroughtMonitor #drought #drought2026
In response, Colorado governor Jared Polis activated the state’s drought task force earlier this month, and yesterday (March 25), Denver enacted twice-weekly water restrictions. (2/2)
USDM Hot Topic March 26, 2026: Colorado. This week, abnormal dryness or drought increased from 85.71% to 91.03% of Colorado. Moderate drought or worse rose from 69.45% to 74.28%. Severe drought expanded from 40.36% to 58.99%. Extreme drought increased from 12.88% to 23.97%. Exceptional drought increased from 0.83% to 5.87%. For more statistics, please refer to the US Drought Monitor website: droughtmonitor.unl.edu.
Colorado has seen its warmest year on record so far. It is also one of the driest, with snow-water equivalent levels below the fifth percentile in many locations, and at a record low for some. (1/2)
#Drought #Drought2026 #US #Colorado