Arizona Drought Status

A stretch of unusually dry and warm weather during the past 30 days caused drought conditions to worsen across much of Arizona. Less than 50 percent of average precipitation fell across most of Arizona in the past month, and temperatures in January were 0–6 degrees F warmer than average. As a result, moderate to severe drought conditions increased by about 20 percent from one month ago to cover approximately 81 percent of Arizona, according to the February 14 U.S. Drought Monitor (Figures 4a–b). The largest changes in drought conditions occurred over the northwest quarter of the state, which was downgraded to moderate drought from abnormally dry conditions. In this region, many areas have accumulated precipitation deficits of 2–4 inches below average as of February 16. Also, severe drought conditions persisted across southeast Arizona due to both short- and long-term precipitation deficits; drought conditions in this region have been ongoing for more than 18 months. Although few and far between, there have been some drought improvements, most notably in the Four Corners region, where severe drought has replaced extreme drought.