Is Arkansas in a drought?
This week's U.S. Drought Monitor for Arkansas, and the category in each of its 75 counties, from the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Yes, in part: 94.55% of Arkansas is in drought (D1 to D4).
100% is at least abnormally dry (D0 to D4), 91.32% in severe drought or worse (D2 to D4), 65.44% extreme or worse (D3 to D4) and 6.61% in D4 Exceptional Drought.
Next map: released Thursday 22 October 2026.
On the map valid 13 October 2026, 75 of 75 counties had some drought (D1 or worse). D4 Exceptional Drought somewhere in 21. D3 Extreme Drought somewhere in 45. D2 Severe Drought somewhere in 7.
Every county, map valid 13 October 2026
The category is the most severe one covering any part of the county; the share says how much of it. "Weeks" counts the weekly maps in a row with that category or worse somewhere in it.
| County | Category this week | Share in it | In drought (D1–D4) | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas County | D3 Extreme Drought | 100% | 100% | 4 weeks |
| Ashley County | D3 Extreme Drought | 100% | 100% | 29 weeks |
| Baxter County | D2 Severe Drought | 41.28% | 59.71% | 3 weeks |
| Benton County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 82.92% | 100% | 6 weeks |
| Boone County | D3 Extreme Drought | 10.79% | 100% | 3 weeks |
| Bradley County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 12.25% | 100% | 1 week |
| Calhoun County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 21.3% | 100% | 1 week |
| Carroll County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 38.77% | 100% | 1 week |
| Chicot County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 23.57% | 100% | 22 weeks |
| Clark County | D3 Extreme Drought | 94.95% | 100% | 2 weeks |
| Clay County | D2 Severe Drought | 91.83% | 100% | 41 weeks |
| Cleburne County | D3 Extreme Drought | 1.08% | 73.01% | 1 week |
| Cleveland County | D3 Extreme Drought | 100% | 100% | 29 weeks |
| Columbia County | D3 Extreme Drought | 100% | 100% | 6 weeks |
| Conway County | D3 Extreme Drought | 60.59% | 100% | 39 weeks |
| Craighead County | D3 Extreme Drought | 80.08% | 100% | 6 weeks |
| Crawford County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 24.57% | 100% | 4 weeks |
| Crittenden County | D3 Extreme Drought | 57.47% | 100% | 3 weeks |
| Cross County | D3 Extreme Drought | 59.13% | 100% | 3 weeks |
| Dallas County | D3 Extreme Drought | 75.19% | 100% | 2 weeks |
| Desha County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 33.23% | 100% | 23 weeks |
| Drew County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 15.65% | 100% | 24 weeks |
| Faulkner County | D3 Extreme Drought | 81.06% | 100% | 9 weeks |
| Franklin County | D3 Extreme Drought | 83.34% | 100% | 8 weeks |
| Fulton County | D3 Extreme Drought | 16.62% | 100% | 8 weeks |
| Garland County | D3 Extreme Drought | 69.21% | 100% | 1 week |
| Grant County | D3 Extreme Drought | 5.33% | 100% | 1 week |
| Greene County | D3 Extreme Drought | 62.65% | 100% | 39 weeks |
| Hempstead County | D3 Extreme Drought | 100% | 100% | 2 weeks |
| Hot Spring County | D3 Extreme Drought | 2.01% | 100% | 2 weeks |
| Howard County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 33.45% | 100% | 1 week |
| Independence County | D3 Extreme Drought | 43.21% | 100% | 8 weeks |
| Izard County | D3 Extreme Drought | 2.07% | 97.56% | 8 weeks |
| Jackson County | D3 Extreme Drought | 90.35% | 100% | 7 weeks |
| Jefferson County | D3 Extreme Drought | 90.88% | 100% | 9 weeks |
| Johnson County | D3 Extreme Drought | 9.5% | 90.04% | 8 weeks |
| Lafayette County | D3 Extreme Drought | 100% | 100% | 2 weeks |
| Lawrence County | D3 Extreme Drought | 33.82% | 100% | 8 weeks |
| Lee County | D3 Extreme Drought | 66.16% | 100% | 1 week |
| Lincoln County | D3 Extreme Drought | 100% | 100% | 29 weeks |
| Little River County | D3 Extreme Drought | 100% | 100% | 1 week |
| Logan County | D3 Extreme Drought | 24.56% | 100% | 8 weeks |
| Lonoke County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 1.49% | 100% | 2 weeks |
| Madison County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 3.39% | 100% | 1 week |
| Marion County | D2 Severe Drought | 51.83% | 66.65% | 3 weeks |
| Miller County | D3 Extreme Drought | 100% | 100% | 1 week |
| Mississippi County | D3 Extreme Drought | 97.49% | 100% | 4 weeks |
| Monroe County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 0.03% | 99.99% | 2 weeks |
| Montgomery County | D3 Extreme Drought | 35.94% | 100% | 2 weeks |
| Nevada County | D3 Extreme Drought | 100% | 100% | 2 weeks |
| Newton County | D2 Severe Drought | 23.78% | 45.1% | 4 weeks |
| Ouachita County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 5.4% | 100% | 1 week |
| Perry County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 22.39% | 99.99% | 1 week |
| Phillips County | D3 Extreme Drought | 100% | 100% | 4 weeks |
| Pike County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 8.42% | 100% | 1 week |
| Poinsett County | D3 Extreme Drought | 69.01% | 100% | 3 weeks |
| Polk County | D3 Extreme Drought | 43.72% | 100% | 5 weeks |
| Pope County | D3 Extreme Drought | 37.64% | 70.38% | 37 weeks |
| Prairie County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 35.09% | 100% | 2 weeks |
| Pulaski County | D3 Extreme Drought | 29.08% | 100% | 9 weeks |
| Randolph County | D2 Severe Drought | 62.07% | 100% | at least 54 weeks |
| Saline County | D3 Extreme Drought | 8.46% | 100% | 1 week |
| Scott County | D3 Extreme Drought | 40.99% | 100% | 8 weeks |
| Searcy County | D1 Moderate Drought | 2.79% | 2.79% | 3 weeks |
| Sebastian County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 4.81% | 99.99% | 4 weeks |
| Sevier County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 2.89% | 100% | 1 week |
| Sharp County | D3 Extreme Drought | 1.64% | 100% | 8 weeks |
| St. Francis County | D2 Severe Drought | 100% | 100% | 4 weeks |
| Stone County | D2 Severe Drought | 12.39% | 24.47% | 11 weeks |
| Union County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 69.84% | 100% | 1 week |
| Van Buren County | D1 Moderate Drought | 44.62% | 44.62% | 1 week |
| Washington County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 0.8% | 100% | 6 weeks |
| White County | D3 Extreme Drought | 96.31% | 100% | 9 weeks |
| Woodruff County | D3 Extreme Drought | 65.88% | 100% | 4 weeks |
| Yell County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 14.1% | 100% | 1 week |
Natural disaster risk in Arkansas by county · Drought in every state
The categories
| Category | Name |
|---|---|
| D0 | Abnormally Dry (not drought: going into or coming out of drought) |
| D1 | Moderate Drought |
| D2 | Severe Drought |
| D3 | Extreme Drought |
| D4 | Exceptional Drought |
What each category means on the ground is described on the Drought Monitor's classification page.
How this page reads the Drought Monitor
- The figures are the U.S. Drought Monitor's own statistics (share of area in each category), read from its data service. The categories are theirs, unchanged. This site does not make its own drought assessment.
- The Drought Monitor gives each county a share in each category. A county's category here is the most severe one covering any part of it, with the share it covers. "Weeks" counts the weekly maps in a row, newest first, on which some of the county was at that category or worse.
- A new map is released every Thursday, valid for the Tuesday before. Every figure here carries that valid date. This site reads the new week once, after the Thursday release, and keeps it.
- Counties are matched to the Drought Monitor by their five-digit FIPS code. Connecticut is shown by its nine planning regions, which replaced its eight counties in 2022; the Drought Monitor's county statistics use the same planning regions.
The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC.
Source: U.S. Drought Monitor, droughtmonitor.unl.edu · The official map for Arkansas · Drought Monitor data tables · drought.gov current conditions · NOAA seasonal drought outlook
Questions
Is Arkansas in a drought right now?
On the U.S. Drought Monitor valid 13 October 2026, 94.55% of Arkansas is in drought (D1 to D4) and 100% is at least abnormally dry (D0 to D4). 91.32% is in D2 Severe Drought or worse.
Which counties in Arkansas are in the worst drought?
This week the most severe category in Arkansas is D4 Exceptional Drought, in Benton County, Bradley County, Calhoun County, Carroll County, Chicot County, Crawford County, Desha County, Drew County and 13 more.
How is a county's category chosen on this page?
The U.S. Drought Monitor gives the share of each county in each category. This page names the most severe category covering any part of the county, and always says how much of the county it covers.