Polygon layer · Water
Drought monitor map for the 17 western states
US Drought Monitor severity by county — the year's supply risk, mapped.
The drought monitor map is the condition every other water layer is read against. A senior right in a D4 county and a senior right in an unaffected one are not the same asset, and the classification is what triggers curtailment orders in most states.
- Source
- US Drought Monitor
- Refresh
- Weekly
- Geometry
- Polygon
- Included from
- Water
Why Drought Monitor matters
Drought category is the trigger that converts a paper seniority ranking into an actual shutoff. Junior rights in a D3 county are a different risk than the same rights in a normal year, and the classification is the number regulators, lenders and insurers all reference.
Questions Drought Monitor answers
- Which of my watchlist positions sit in D3 or worse this week?
- Is this basin in a multi-year drought or a single dry year?
- Where is curtailment most likely to be called this season?
What is in the Drought Monitor data
Coverage: All western US counties. Source dataset: Weekly drought severity classification.
| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Severity category | D0 abnormally dry through D4 exceptional drought. |
| County | The reporting unit, which is also how relief programs are administered. |
| Valid date | The week the classification applies to. |
How we serve Drought Monitor
County polygons carry the current classification and render as a graduated fill beneath the point layers, so drought reads as context rather than competing with the markers on top of it.
Drought monitor map — source, refresh and coverage
- Steward
- US Drought Monitor
- Dataset
- Weekly drought severity classification
- Refresh cadence
- Weekly
- Coverage
- All western US counties
- Records
- 135 rows
- Geometry
- Polygon
- Included from
- Water plan
Who uses Drought Monitor
Water Rights Investing
Price seniority, spot the mismatch between paper water and wet water, and find positions before they are listed.
Agriculture & Ranching
Know what your water is worth, how safe it is this year, and what your neighbors hold.
Government & Basin Management
A statewide inventory, live supply monitoring, and a public-facing record without building the platform.
Water Brokerage
A complete owner database across 17 states, comparables for pricing, and a client-ready report in one click.
Read Drought Monitor alongside
SNOTEL Snowpack
NRCS snow telemetry — next year's water supply, six months early.
Reservoirs
Storage capacity and current levels across western reservoirs.
Stream Gauges
Live USGS streamflow — what is physically in the river right now.
Watershed Basins
USGS hydrologic unit boundaries — the unit water is actually managed in.
Terms used on this page
See Drought Monitor on the map
This layer is included from Water upward, alongside every other layer in the Water coverage.