Drought is expected to persist or expand along the interior of the Southeast U.S. 

Current U.S. Drought Monitor Conditions in the SE 

Current Conditions. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows that dry conditions and/or drought continue to slowly expand across the Southeast Drought Early Warning System (SE DEWS). While a few improvements were observed due to isolated rains in parts of South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi, abnormally dry conditions and/or moderate drought were expanded in nearly all states. Severe Drought (D2) is primarily in the Florida Panhandle, northern Georgia, and parts of Tennessee.

Impacts. This short-term dryness is beginning to impact livestock through poor forage quality, and an increasing number of locations are reporting below and very below normal streamflow. 

Looking Ahead. Some rainfall is expected this week, especially along the Atlantic Coast, but not likely enough to overcome the gradually accumulating deficits, especially in the western part of the region. Although we are moving into the winter, outlooks are leaning towards above average temperatures over the next month for much of the region, which could still lead to higher evapotranspiration in areas where vegetation remains non-dormant.

Visit CPC for additional climate and drought outlooks. Sign up here to get automated email alerts when U.S. Drought Monitor conditions change for your location, or when CPC releases a new drought outlook.

New Weekly Drought Summaries from Tennessee and Florida!

The Florida Climate Center and the Tennessee Climate Office are now developing weekly drought update reports that provide state-specific information about current USDM drought conditions, reported impacts, what has changed, and what may be next. These easy-to-understand infographics utilize the weekly summary format developed by North Carolina. Explore these weekly reports below!

• Florida Drought Status - Weekly Update
• Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary



Questions about drought in your state or basin?

Visit the state-specific drought websites below or reach out to your State Climatologist

Alabama

• ADECA Drought Planning and Management 
• Office of the AL State Climatologist 

Florida

• Florida DEP Water Supply
• Florida Climate Center and FL State Climatologist

Georgia

• GA EPD Drought Management
• Office of the GA State Climatologist

North Carolina

• NC Drought Management Advisory Council
• NC State Climate Office 

South Carolina

• SC Drought Page
• SC State Climatology Office

Tennessee

• TN Climate Office

Virginia

• DEQ Drought Page

You can also find county and city-level drought information and interactive maps on the U.S. Drought Portal (drought.gov).

For those in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin, visit the ACF Drought & Water Dashboard

For those in the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT) River Basin Drought & Water Dashboard, visit the ACT Drought and Water Dashboard

Other News & Upcoming Partner Events

Southeast Climate Monthly Webinar Series. Held on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 10:00 am ET. Includes information on current and developing climate conditions such as droughts, floods, and tropical storms, as well as special presentations on climatic events and impacts. Register here >

Upcoming Special Topics:

• November 15: ENSO and Winter Outlook Update, NWS Climate Prediction Center
• January 24: 2022 Year in Review, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

Drought.gov Launches New Map Feature for Tribal Nations. Tribal Nations contend with drought data gaps, such as the lack of monitoring on tribal lands, but nonetheless, have long shown their resilience to drought and have communicated the need for tools and resources to help manage it. In response to these needs expressed by tribal partners, NIDIS is pleased to announce a new map customization feature for Tribal Nations. Developed in collaboration with NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), this feature allows users to display reservation boundaries for more than 300 reservations across the U.S. on any of the maps available on Drought.gov. NIDIS and NCEI launched the new Tribal Nation Boundary map feature in direct response to the NIDIS Tribal Drought Engagement Strategy, which NIDIS developed in close consultation with 22 tribal natural resource managers. Learn more >

Learn about NASA SPoRT product.  SPoRT is a NASA project to transition unique observations and research capabilities to the operational weather community to improve short-term forecasts on a regional scale. A NASA SPoRT Introductory Stakeholder Summit & Seminar will take place on November 16 from 2-4 pm EST. The webinar will introduce current NASA SPoRT products, host breakout sessions to learn more about specific NASA SPoRT products, and end with an open discussion for stakeholders to address current and future needs of the products. Register Here >

New USGS Updated Water Cycle Diagram Released. This new diagram illustrates a more comprehensive view of the water cycle. It draws on principles of information design to focus attention on the water as it moves through the natural and built environment. Available in English and Spanish. Learn More >

In Case You Missed It: Flash Drought Prediction & Monitoring Tools. The rapid onset or intensification of drought conditions, also called flash drought, has been a major concern across the U.S. this summer and has been identified as important to the Southeast region. To help climate professionals and the public better understand this phenomenon, NIDIS has developed a handout listing currently available flash drought-oriented tools, organized by type of tool (monitoring or prediction) and by primary indicator (focused on evapotranspiration, precipitation, soil moisture, and integrated products). There is also a companion handout developed by Dr. Trent Ford at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign that provides a quick snapshot of the general advantages and disadvantages of each primary indicator. 

• Flash Drought Prediction and Monitoring Tools - Descriptions >
• Flash Drought Tools: Advantages and Disadvantages by Indicator Type >

In Case You Missed It: Recap of Soil Moisture National Webinar Series. NIDIS and the National Weather Service hosted two webinars in 2022 on soil moisture data and applications. The first "Soil Moisture 101" webinar provided an overview of soil moisture monitoring and interpretation, including a review of the three main techniques for estimating soil moisture conditions: in situ ground-based systems, satellite measurements, and land surface model outputs. The second webinar focused on practical applications of soil moisture information.

• Summary and Recordings from Soil Moisture 101 >
• Summary and Recordings from Practical Applications of Soil Moisture Information >

The Southeast DEWS is a collaborative federal, regional, state, and local interagency effort to improve drought early warning capacity and build long-term drought resilience throughout the region. The Southeast DEWS currently includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. 

For additional information contact Meredith Muth, NOAA/NIDIS