Is California in a drought?
This week's U.S. Drought Monitor for California, and the category in each of its 58 counties, from the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Yes, in part: 23.26% of California is in drought (D1 to D4).
72.12% is at least abnormally dry (D0 to D4), 0% in severe drought or worse (D2 to D4), 0% extreme or worse (D3 to D4) and 0% in D4 Exceptional Drought.
Next map: released Thursday 22 October 2026.
On the map valid 13 October 2026, 18 of 58 counties had some drought (D1 or worse); 26 more were abnormally dry (D0) only.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda County | None | 0% | 25 weeks | |
| Alpine County | D1 Moderate Drought | 0.04% | 0.04% | 8 weeks |
| Amador County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 100% | 0% | 31 weeks |
| Butte County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 100% | 0% | 32 weeks |
| Calaveras County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 100% | 0% | 30 weeks |
| Colusa County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 100% | 0% | 29 weeks |
| Contra Costa County | None | 0% | 25 weeks | |
| Del Norte County | D1 Moderate Drought | 38.69% | 38.69% | 28 weeks |
| El Dorado County | D1 Moderate Drought | 3.18% | 3.18% | 8 weeks |
| Fresno County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 48.2% | 0% | 30 weeks |
| Glenn County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 100% | 0% | 29 weeks |
| Humboldt County | D1 Moderate Drought | 1.35% | 1.35% | 20 weeks |
| Imperial County | D1 Moderate Drought | 54.53% | 54.53% | 12 weeks |
| Inyo County | D1 Moderate Drought | 55.67% | 55.67% | 22 weeks |
| Kern County | D1 Moderate Drought | 4.06% | 4.06% | 4 weeks |
| Kings County | None | 0% | 48 weeks | |
| Lake County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 95.31% | 0% | 29 weeks |
| Lassen County | D1 Moderate Drought | 58.47% | 58.47% | 28 weeks |
| Los Angeles County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 6.67% | 0% | 4 weeks |
| Madera County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 77.45% | 0% | 30 weeks |
| Marin County | None | 0% | 25 weeks | |
| Mariposa County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 100% | 0% | 30 weeks |
| Mendocino County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 91.64% | 0% | 29 weeks |
| Merced County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 19.56% | 0% | 28 weeks |
| Modoc County | D1 Moderate Drought | 100% | 100% | 28 weeks |
| Mono County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 100% | 0% | 31 weeks |
| Monterey County | None | 0% | 25 weeks | |
| Napa County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 27.25% | 0% | 29 weeks |
| Nevada County | D1 Moderate Drought | 10.4% | 10.4% | 8 weeks |
| Orange County | None | 0% | 42 weeks | |
| Placer County | D1 Moderate Drought | 10.86% | 10.86% | 8 weeks |
| Plumas County | D1 Moderate Drought | 4.73% | 4.73% | 28 weeks |
| Riverside County | D1 Moderate Drought | 48.59% | 48.59% | 24 weeks |
| Sacramento County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 69.04% | 0% | 28 weeks |
| San Benito County | None | 0% | 48 weeks | |
| San Bernardino County | D1 Moderate Drought | 53.27% | 53.27% | 26 weeks |
| San Diego County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 65.47% | 0% | 28 weeks |
| San Francisco County | None | 0% | 25 weeks | |
| San Joaquin County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 13.62% | 0% | 28 weeks |
| San Luis Obispo County | None | 0% | 48 weeks | |
| San Mateo County | None | 0% | 25 weeks | |
| Santa Barbara County | None | 0% | 47 weeks | |
| Santa Clara County | None | 0% | 25 weeks | |
| Santa Cruz County | None | 0% | 25 weeks | |
| Shasta County | D1 Moderate Drought | 1.36% | 1.36% | 7 weeks |
| Sierra County | D1 Moderate Drought | 22.09% | 22.09% | 28 weeks |
| Siskiyou County | D1 Moderate Drought | 89.86% | 89.86% | 28 weeks |
| Solano County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 19.9% | 0% | 29 weeks |
| Sonoma County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 0.68% | 0% | 3 weeks |
| Stanislaus County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 29.92% | 0% | 28 weeks |
| Sutter County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 100% | 0% | 28 weeks |
| Tehama County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 100% | 0% | 32 weeks |
| Trinity County | D1 Moderate Drought | 6.12% | 6.12% | 20 weeks |
| Tulare County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 78.79% | 0% | 30 weeks |
| Tuolumne County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 100% | 0% | 31 weeks |
| Ventura County | None | 0% | 47 weeks | |
| Yolo County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 96.04% | 0% | 29 weeks |
| Yuba County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 100% | 0% | 32 weeks |
Natural disaster risk in California 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 California · Drought Monitor data tables · drought.gov current conditions · NOAA seasonal drought outlook
Questions
Is California in a drought right now?
On the U.S. Drought Monitor valid 13 October 2026, 23.26% of California is in drought (D1 to D4) and 72.12% is at least abnormally dry (D0 to D4).
Which counties in California are in the worst drought?
This week the most severe category in California is D1 Moderate Drought, in Alpine County, Del Norte County, El Dorado County, Humboldt County, Imperial County, Inyo County, Kern County, Lassen County and 10 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.