Drought is affecting all but 5 US states

Almost all of the United States faces moderate to severe drought at the start of an El Niño summer.

1 minute read

June 28, 2026, 10:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Dried-up cracked soil next to a receding puddle.

Drought in the Southwest. | Heidi Besen / Shutterstock

Data from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s drought monitor shows that 45 U.S. states are currently experiencing drought. Of the five  that are drought-free — Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Alaska and Hawaii — only Ohio is "completely clear of any abnormally dry conditions whatsoever."

As Joe Wilkins explains in Futurism, "Some of the hardest hit states in the union include Colorado, with 96.5 percent of the state experiencing D1 levels of drought at a minimum, and 9.3 percent of the state under extreme D4 conditions. North Carolina is also parched, with at least 90.4 percent at D2 or above — characterized by voluntary and mandatory water use restrictions in some areas — 7.02 of which reaches the unholy threshold for D4." In the west, "drought deterioration was commonly observed across roughly the northern half of the region, amid significantly above-normal temperatures and mounting water-supply concerns."

Friday, June 26, 2026 in Futurism

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