Weekly Map - Drought Conditions
The Arizona Drought Monitoring Technical Committee confers weekly to advise the U.S. Drought Monitor authors on the current drought conditions in Arizona, and makes recommendations about the position of the drought boundaries for Arizona. The U.S. Drought Monitor is the official record of drought for Federal drought relief claims. Information used by the MTC in advising the Drought Monitor authors includes numerous drought indices, precipitation and stream flow data, and impacts data. Every Thursday, the Drought Status web page automatically updates with the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map of Arizona.
Short-term Drought Conditions
Monthly Drought Status Summary: October 2024
October was the hottest October on record for most cities and towns across the state, including Phoenix, Tucson, and Flagstaff. October tied for the driest October on record for Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma, and several other cities and towns in western and southeastern counties. Flagstaff and northeastern portions of the state received near to
Northeastern and south-central counties of the state, including Maricopa, Pinal, and Graham counties, saw a decrease in areas without drought (14% of state). Abnormally Dry (D0) conditions remained largely in northeastern and south-central counties (33% of state). Moderate (D1) and Severe (D2) short-term drought expanded in western, central, and southeastern counties (53% of state).
Long-term Drought Conditions
Quarterly Drought Status Update: July -September 2024
June, July, and August 2024 was the hottest summer on record for Arizona (130 year record). It was also the 41 st driest June, July, and August on record. Mohave, La Paz, Yuma, Maricopa, Santa Cruz, and Greenlee counties, as well as southern Navajo and Apache counties, and central Graham County all witnessed the expansion of Extreme (D3) long-term drought, as did western Pinal and north-central Pima counties. Severe (D2) long-term drought expanded along the western Mogollon Rim and eastern Gila County. Northern counties experienced a small decrease to areas without long-term drought and slightly expanding Abnormally Dry (D0) and Moderate (D1) long-term drought.
This report was prepared by the Arizona Drought Monitoring Technical Committee, October, 2024. Arizona's long-term drought status map is updated quarterly and the next update will take place in December, it will reflect the conditions of October, November, and December. The long-term drought status for each watershed is determined by comparing the precipitation and streamflow percentiles for the past 24, 36, 48 and 60 months to a 40-year historical record.