America struck by worst drought in 14 years—these states are worst affected

Nearly two-thirds of the United States is now in drought, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor data, with dry conditions stretching across all but two states and affecting more than 150 million people nationwide.

A growing drought spanning much of the country raises concerns about water supplies, agriculture, and wildfire risk for millions of Americans.

What the Data Show

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map, released on Thursday, showed that almost 62 percent of the U.S. is experiencing some level of drought.

“An area [five times] the size of Texas is under severe drought across the Lower 48 right now,” social media weather analyst Colin McCarthy wrote in a Tuesday X post on the drought monitor data.

“Drought coverage is now rivaling 2012, making this one of the worst droughts the US has seen in decades,” McCarthy, who boasts more than 155,000 followers on the platform.

What To Know

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map, released Thursday, showed that much of the contiguous U.S. was experiencing some degree of drought.

The map identifies general areas of drought—defined as a moisture deficit bad enough to have social, environmental or economic effects—and labels them by intensity, from “none” and “abnormally dry” to “moderate,” “severe,” “extreme,” and “exceptional” drought.

Where Conditions Are Worst

According to this map, areas classified as experiencing “exceptional” drought included parts of northern Florida and southern Georgia, northern Missouri, northwestern Colorado, and southwest Idaho.

In Texas, most of LaSalle and McMullen Counties were included in this classification, as well as parts of Atascosa, Dimmit, and Brewster Counties.

Areas classified under “extreme” drought included portions of the Carolinas, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Oklahoma, among others.

Michigan and North Dakota were the only states not classified as experiencing any level of drought on the map, while all others showed at least some degree of drought.

How Many People Are Impacted

The National Drought Mitigation Center said in a Thursday video that, for all U.S. states and Puerto Rico, the Drought Monitor showed 52.46 percent of the area in moderate drought or worse, compared with 51 percent the prior week.

Roughly 155.7 million people live in areas with drought, the video said, a rise from 148.8 million the week before.