Arizona Drought Status

Drought conditions continued to intensify and expand slightly over the past 30 days across Arizona (Figure 4a). According to the May 17 update of the U.S. Drought Monitor, 86 percent of Arizona is classified with abnormally dry conditions or a more severe drought category compared with 74 percent in mid-April (Figure 4b). Moderate drought conditions constituted the largest expansion in area from one month ago and currently span about 58 percent of Arizona, up from about 49 percent. This expansion largely occurred across central Arizona in Gila, Pinal, and Maricopa counties, where previously only abnormally dry conditions were observed. A couple of late winter storms brought rain and snow to far northern Arizona but only wind to the southeast and other parts of the state with the driest conditions.