This week’s CMOR photo is from Fall River County, South Dakota.
“I have never seen the dust blow like this here before. My wind speed topped today so far at 42 MPH.”
Submit your photos: https://go.unl.edu/cmor_drought
#drought #drought2026 #US #CMOR #photos #citizenscience #SouthDakota
Wildfire activity in Florida intensified much earlier than usual due to prolonged dry conditions.
Read more in the February drought impacts summary: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/a9a4932610f04a0a93ec8334fea566ae
Drought conditions continued or worsened across much of the U.S. in February, with localized areas of improvement.
Read more in the February drought climate summary: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/425551fbc3b9434a91c368ef1b370c6c
Following a drier-than-normal winter, a pattern change at the beginning of March resulted in widespread heavy precipitation. This improved drought and dryness in parts of the Ohio Valley and Middle to Lower Mississippi Valley.
The Drought Download video series uses maps, climate indicators and graphics to visualize the US Drought Monitor.
Learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0K1CUlvlrs
Heading into spring, low snowpack and early snowmelt are concerns in the West. As of March 12, snow water equivalent is less than 40% of normal in some areas.
Warm weather over the past couple weeks is causing some snow to melt earlier than usual. A potentially historic March heatwave is also expected to affect the region next week.
Find more monitoring, planning and education resources on our website: https://drought.unl.edu.
Are you seeing any drought impacts in your area? Share reports to CMOR: https://go.unl.edu/cmor_drought
Improvements occurred in parts of the Northeast and Midwest. Degradations occurred in parts of the West, with small areas of improvement in Wyoming and Colorado. Mixed conditions occurred in parts of the High Plains, Southeast and South.
See more change maps: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Maps/ChangeMaps.aspx
Monitor de Sequía de los Estados Unidos
Mapa publicado: marzo 12, 2026
US Drought Monitor 3-12-26
For the 50 states and Puerto Rico, the US Drought Monitor shows 45.18% in moderate drought or worse, compared to 45.94% last week.
Drought Center