Arizona Drought Status

Spotty monsoon precipitation has continued to help keep short-term drought conditions at bay across much of southeast Arizona. In most parts of Arizona outside the southeast, however, precipitation in the last month has been below average (Figure 4a). This had led to persistence of the abnormally dry conditions in the northern and western parts of the state and the expansion of moderate drought conditions through most of Mohave County. The overall area experiencing some drought conditions is the same as last month. However, while abnormally dry conditions dropped 5 percent to 4 percent during the last 30 days, moderate drought conditions or worse have expanded by an equal amount (Figure 4b). The most recent seasonal precipitation forecast issued by the NOAA–Climate Prediction Center (CPC) calls for increased odds for a dry winter (see page 15). This forecast reflects a greater than 90 percent chance that the La Niña event will persist through March. La Niña events often bring below-average precipitation to the Southwest.

Drought impacts reported by Arizona DroughtWatch support the current depiction of drought status across Arizona. Reports indicate low range productivity, increasing forage toxicity, and the need for water hauling in some areas, among other impacts. More drought impact reports can be viewed on Arizona Droughtwatch’s webpage at http://azdroughtwatch.org/.