The U.S. Drought Monitor is the weekly map with yellow, tan, orange, red and dark red patches. It comes out every Thursday and uses data through Tuesday morning. Rain that falls on Wednesday won't show up until the next week's map.
The map is put together by people, not a computer. Experts from the National Drought Mitigation Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and USDA look at rainfall, soil moisture, streamflow, plant health and local reports. Then they draw the lines.
Many USDA programs use this map as their trigger, so the color your county shows matters.
The levels in plain words
| Level | Name | What it roughly means |
|---|---|---|
| D0 | Abnormally dry | Going into or coming out of drought. Not a drought yet. |
| D1 | Moderate drought | Dryness this bad happens about 10–20% of the time. |
| D2 | Severe drought | About 5–10% of the time. This is where most USDA triggers start. |
| D3 | Extreme drought | About 2–5% of the time. |
| D4 | Exceptional drought | The driest 2% of the record. |
The percentages come from the Drought Monitor's own classification table. As a rule, the map won't make an area worse by more than one level in a single week.
Which levels trigger which help
| What | Trigger | Run by |
|---|---|---|
| LFP, 1 month of payment | D2 for 4 weeks in a row during the normal grazing period (new for 2026) | FSA |
| LFP, 2 months | D2 for 7 of 8 weeks in a row | FSA |
| LFP, 3 / 4 / 5 months | D3 any time / D3 for 4 weeks or D4 any time / D4 for 4 weeks | FSA |
| CRP emergency haying and grazing | Any part of the county at D2 or worse | FSA |
| Fast-track drought disaster designation, which opens emergency loans | Any part of the county at D2 for 8 weeks in a row during the growing season, or D3 or worse at any time | USDA / FSA |
| ELAP water-hauling help | Any part of the county at D3, or 8 weeks in a row of D2 that hurts water supply during the normal grazing period (2025 fact sheet) | FSA |
LFP is the Livestock Forage Disaster Program. CRP is the Conservation Reserve Program. ELAP is the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish program.
Other places the map shows up:
- Oklahoma: a county burn ban requires severe, extreme or exceptional drought, plus other fire-danger conditions.
- New Mexico: state law on agricultural land value counts land "rested" because of at least moderate drought lasting 8 weeks in a row.
- The IRS uses the Drought Monitor for its rules on livestock sold early because of drought. Ask a tax professional how that applies to you.
What D0 and D1 do not do
D0 and D1 generally do not trigger LFP, CRP emergency use or fast-track loans. They are early warnings. That is the time to:
- Check your stocking rate against the grass you actually have.
- Price hay and feed before everyone else does.
- Start keeping dated pasture photos and rain-gauge notes.
What to do next
- Look up your county each Thursday at droughtmonitor.unl.edu.
- Count the weeks. Many triggers depend on how many weeks in a row your county stays at a level, not just whether it touches it.
- Know your normal grazing period. LFP only counts drought weeks that fall inside the grazing period FSA sets for your county and pasture type. Your county FSA office can tell you the dates.
- Report what you see. The map's authors take local drought reports through the Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) system, linked from the Drought Monitor site. Your reports help them see what's happening on the ground, but they don't change the map on their own.
- Call FSA once your county reaches D2. Getting your paperwork started early helps.
Cownty can text you when your county's drought level changes and when it crosses a USDA program trigger.
Cownty is an independent service and is not affiliated with USDA, the National Drought Mitigation Center or any government agency. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.
See it for your county
Check your county
Every county, by state: Texas · Oklahoma · Kansas · New Mexico
Official sources
- U.S. Drought Monitor – Drought Classification
- U.S. Drought Monitor – What is the USDM?
- FSA – Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP)
- FSA – CRP Emergency Haying and Grazing
- FSA – Emergency Disaster Designation and Declaration Process fact sheet
- FSA – ELAP Livestock fact sheet (May 2025)
- ODAFF – Burn Ban FAQ
Rules and dates checked against these pages on Oct 18, 2026. Information only, not legal, tax, insurance or financial advice: the agency decides. Not affiliated with USDA or any government agency.