Is Minnesota in a drought?
This week's U.S. Drought Monitor for Minnesota, and the category in each of its 87 counties, from the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Yes, in part: 62.59% of Minnesota is in drought (D1 to D4).
80.02% is at least abnormally dry (D0 to D4), 27.04% in severe drought or worse (D2 to D4), 2.52% 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, 62 of 87 counties had some drought (D1 or worse); 15 more were abnormally dry (D0) only. D3 Extreme Drought somewhere in 6. D2 Severe Drought somewhere in 34.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aitkin County | D2 Severe Drought | 100% | 100% | 19 weeks |
| Anoka County | D2 Severe Drought | 100% | 100% | 10 weeks |
| Becker County | D2 Severe Drought | 4.42% | 100% | 19 weeks |
| Beltrami County | D1 Moderate Drought | 29.81% | 29.81% | at least 54 weeks |
| Benton County | D2 Severe Drought | 98.12% | 100% | 10 weeks |
| Big Stone County | D2 Severe Drought | 6.45% | 100% | 7 weeks |
| Blue Earth County | None | 0% | 4 weeks | |
| Brown County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 49.6% | 0% | at least 54 weeks |
| Carlton County | D3 Extreme Drought | 58.87% | 100% | 8 weeks |
| Carver County | D1 Moderate Drought | 48.62% | 48.62% | 12 weeks |
| Cass County | D2 Severe Drought | 96.35% | 100% | 19 weeks |
| Chippewa County | D2 Severe Drought | 2.49% | 20.63% | 7 weeks |
| Chisago County | D3 Extreme Drought | 4.63% | 100% | 8 weeks |
| Clay County | D3 Extreme Drought | 19.98% | 100% | 9 weeks |
| Clearwater County | D1 Moderate Drought | 36.85% | 36.85% | 21 weeks |
| Cook County | D2 Severe Drought | 53.14% | 100% | 13 weeks |
| Cottonwood County | D1 Moderate Drought | 13.17% | 13.17% | 12 weeks |
| Crow Wing County | D2 Severe Drought | 100% | 100% | 19 weeks |
| Dakota County | D2 Severe Drought | 65.2% | 100% | 10 weeks |
| Dodge County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 68.55% | 0% | 21 weeks |
| Douglas County | D1 Moderate Drought | 92.29% | 92.29% | 12 weeks |
| Faribault County | None | 0% | 3 weeks | |
| Fillmore County | None | 0% | 4 weeks | |
| Freeborn County | None | 0% | 3 weeks | |
| Goodhue County | D2 Severe Drought | 33.64% | 87.52% | 10 weeks |
| Grant County | D1 Moderate Drought | 95.26% | 95.26% | 10 weeks |
| Hennepin County | D2 Severe Drought | 84.06% | 100% | 10 weeks |
| Houston County | None | 0% | 5 weeks | |
| Hubbard County | D2 Severe Drought | 54.85% | 100% | 19 weeks |
| Isanti County | D2 Severe Drought | 100% | 100% | 10 weeks |
| Itasca County | D2 Severe Drought | 38.97% | 100% | 19 weeks |
| Jackson County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 92.93% | 0% | at least 54 weeks |
| Kanabec County | D2 Severe Drought | 100% | 100% | 10 weeks |
| Kandiyohi County | D1 Moderate Drought | 22.82% | 22.82% | 8 weeks |
| Kittson County | None | 0% | 3 weeks | |
| Koochiching County | D1 Moderate Drought | 93.88% | 93.88% | 19 weeks |
| Lac qui Parle County | D2 Severe Drought | 40.87% | 100% | 7 weeks |
| Lake County | D2 Severe Drought | 47.57% | 100% | 13 weeks |
| Lake of the Woods County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 73.26% | 0% | 23 weeks |
| Le Sueur County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 38.97% | 0% | 13 weeks |
| Lincoln County | D1 Moderate Drought | 100% | 100% | 35 weeks |
| Lyon County | D1 Moderate Drought | 100% | 100% | 35 weeks |
| Mahnomen County | D1 Moderate Drought | 90.42% | 90.42% | 19 weeks |
| Marshall County | None | 0% | 3 weeks | |
| Martin County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 4.27% | 0% | at least 54 weeks |
| McLeod County | D1 Moderate Drought | 4.99% | 4.99% | 3 weeks |
| Meeker County | D1 Moderate Drought | 36.05% | 36.05% | 8 weeks |
| Mille Lacs County | D2 Severe Drought | 100% | 100% | 10 weeks |
| Morrison County | D2 Severe Drought | 85.51% | 100% | 12 weeks |
| Mower County | None | 0% | 4 weeks | |
| Murray County | D1 Moderate Drought | 95.24% | 95.24% | 35 weeks |
| Nicollet County | None | 0% | 3 weeks | |
| Nobles County | D1 Moderate Drought | 34.25% | 34.25% | 35 weeks |
| Norman County | D2 Severe Drought | 41.18% | 99.77% | 12 weeks |
| Olmsted County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 37.99% | 0% | 21 weeks |
| Otter Tail County | D2 Severe Drought | 0.68% | 45.74% | 8 weeks |
| Pennington County | None | 0% | 3 weeks | |
| Pine County | D3 Extreme Drought | 76.62% | 100% | 8 weeks |
| Pipestone County | D1 Moderate Drought | 100% | 100% | 35 weeks |
| Polk County | D2 Severe Drought | 0.01% | 9.88% | 12 weeks |
| Pope County | D1 Moderate Drought | 77.77% | 77.77% | 10 weeks |
| Ramsey County | D2 Severe Drought | 100% | 100% | 10 weeks |
| Red Lake County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 32.61% | 0% | 21 weeks |
| Redwood County | D1 Moderate Drought | 37.29% | 37.29% | 12 weeks |
| Renville County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 46.92% | 0% | 23 weeks |
| Rice County | D1 Moderate Drought | 24.37% | 24.37% | 12 weeks |
| Rock County | D1 Moderate Drought | 64.22% | 64.22% | 53 weeks |
| Roseau County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 0.93% | 0% | 21 weeks |
| Scott County | D2 Severe Drought | 0.2% | 53.78% | 8 weeks |
| Sherburne County | D2 Severe Drought | 93.93% | 100% | 10 weeks |
| Sibley County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 40.07% | 0% | 23 weeks |
| St. Louis County | D3 Extreme Drought | 0.62% | 100% | 8 weeks |
| Stearns County | D2 Severe Drought | 1.99% | 100% | 10 weeks |
| Steele County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 32.46% | 0% | 18 weeks |
| Stevens County | D1 Moderate Drought | 63.34% | 63.34% | 18 weeks |
| Swift County | D2 Severe Drought | 3.05% | 20.95% | 7 weeks |
| Todd County | D2 Severe Drought | 3.83% | 100% | 12 weeks |
| Traverse County | D2 Severe Drought | 25.09% | 100% | 6 weeks |
| Wabasha County | D2 Severe Drought | 3.67% | 43.18% | 10 weeks |
| Wadena County | D2 Severe Drought | 39.49% | 100% | 19 weeks |
| Waseca County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 0.04% | 0% | 3 weeks |
| Washington County | D2 Severe Drought | 100% | 100% | 10 weeks |
| Watonwan County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 22.34% | 0% | at least 54 weeks |
| Wilkin County | D3 Extreme Drought | 31.59% | 100% | 7 weeks |
| Winona County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 4.34% | 0% | 21 weeks |
| Wright County | D2 Severe Drought | 24.07% | 99.15% | 10 weeks |
| Yellow Medicine County | D1 Moderate Drought | 88.12% | 88.12% | 29 weeks |
Natural disaster risk in Minnesota 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 Minnesota · Drought Monitor data tables · drought.gov current conditions · NOAA seasonal drought outlook
Questions
Is Minnesota in a drought right now?
On the U.S. Drought Monitor valid 13 October 2026, 62.59% of Minnesota is in drought (D1 to D4) and 80.02% is at least abnormally dry (D0 to D4). 27.04% is in D2 Severe Drought or worse.
Which counties in Minnesota are in the worst drought?
This week the most severe category in Minnesota is D3 Extreme Drought, in Carlton County, Chisago County, Clay County, Pine County, St. Louis County, Wilkin County.
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.