Is Nebraska in a drought?
This week's U.S. Drought Monitor for Nebraska, and the category in each of its 93 counties, from the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Yes, in part: 44.29% of Nebraska is in drought (D1 to D4).
66.92% is at least abnormally dry (D0 to D4), 22.98% in severe drought or worse (D2 to D4), 6.43% extreme or worse (D3 to D4) and 0.93% in D4 Exceptional Drought.
Next map: released Thursday 22 October 2026.
On the map valid 13 October 2026, 47 of 93 counties had some drought (D1 or worse); 14 more were abnormally dry (D0) only. D4 Exceptional Drought somewhere in 7. D3 Extreme Drought somewhere in 1. D2 Severe Drought somewhere in 18.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams County | None | 0% | 8 weeks | |
| Antelope County | D1 Moderate Drought | 70.01% | 70.01% | 52 weeks |
| Arthur County | D2 Severe Drought | 96.54% | 100% | 41 weeks |
| Banner County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 19.24% | 100% | 24 weeks |
| Blaine County | D1 Moderate Drought | 5.77% | 5.77% | 42 weeks |
| Boone County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 42.15% | 0% | 50 weeks |
| Box Butte County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 2.09% | 100% | 24 weeks |
| Boyd County | D1 Moderate Drought | 1.18% | 1.18% | 3 weeks |
| Brown County | D1 Moderate Drought | 20.99% | 20.99% | 42 weeks |
| Buffalo County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 5.87% | 0% | 52 weeks |
| Burt County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 51.25% | 0% | 36 weeks |
| Butler County | None | 0% | 4 weeks | |
| Cass County | None | 0% | 9 weeks | |
| Cedar County | D1 Moderate Drought | 100% | 100% | 52 weeks |
| Chase County | D2 Severe Drought | 16.21% | 98.19% | 36 weeks |
| Cherry County | D1 Moderate Drought | 31.3% | 31.3% | 48 weeks |
| Cheyenne County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 11.65% | 100% | 25 weeks |
| Clay County | None | 0% | 3 weeks | |
| Colfax County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 0.74% | 0% | 49 weeks |
| Cuming County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 91.99% | 0% | at least 54 weeks |
| Custer County | D2 Severe Drought | 5.5% | 17.22% | 33 weeks |
| Dakota County | D1 Moderate Drought | 41.72% | 41.72% | 52 weeks |
| Dawes County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 11.21% | 100% | 11 weeks |
| Dawson County | D2 Severe Drought | 22.23% | 35.32% | 33 weeks |
| Deuel County | D2 Severe Drought | 57.62% | 100% | 39 weeks |
| Dixon County | D1 Moderate Drought | 98.8% | 98.8% | 52 weeks |
| Dodge County | None | 0% | 4 weeks | |
| Douglas County | None | 0% | 5 weeks | |
| Dundy County | D1 Moderate Drought | 66.19% | 66.19% | 10 weeks |
| Fillmore County | None | 0% | 11 weeks | |
| Franklin County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 15.74% | 0% | 38 weeks |
| Frontier County | D2 Severe Drought | 5.29% | 23.78% | 35 weeks |
| Furnas County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 20.67% | 0% | 42 weeks |
| Gage County | None | 0% | 9 weeks | |
| Garden County | D2 Severe Drought | 87.1% | 100% | 48 weeks |
| Garfield County | D1 Moderate Drought | 16.18% | 16.18% | 43 weeks |
| Gosper County | D2 Severe Drought | 0.58% | 6.54% | 33 weeks |
| Grant County | D2 Severe Drought | 9.15% | 100% | 41 weeks |
| Greeley County | None | 0% | 3 weeks | |
| Hall County | None | 0% | 8 weeks | |
| Hamilton County | None | 0% | 4 weeks | |
| Harlan County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 60.33% | 0% | 42 weeks |
| Hayes County | D2 Severe Drought | 5.55% | 52.35% | 36 weeks |
| Hitchcock County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 63.21% | 0% | 43 weeks |
| Holt County | D1 Moderate Drought | 41.67% | 41.67% | at least 54 weeks |
| Hooker County | D2 Severe Drought | 39.47% | 100% | 41 weeks |
| Howard County | None | 0% | 3 weeks | |
| Jefferson County | None | 0% | 19 weeks | |
| Johnson County | None | 0% | 9 weeks | |
| Kearney County | None | 0% | 2 weeks | |
| Keith County | D2 Severe Drought | 100% | 100% | 35 weeks |
| Keya Paha County | D1 Moderate Drought | 40.85% | 40.85% | at least 54 weeks |
| Kimball County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 21.43% | 99.99% | 18 weeks |
| Knox County | D1 Moderate Drought | 80.07% | 80.07% | 52 weeks |
| Lancaster County | None | 0% | 5 weeks | |
| Lincoln County | D2 Severe Drought | 75.52% | 100% | 35 weeks |
| Logan County | D2 Severe Drought | 49.96% | 92.16% | 31 weeks |
| Loup County | D1 Moderate Drought | 70.3% | 70.3% | 35 weeks |
| Madison County | D1 Moderate Drought | 2.8% | 2.8% | 48 weeks |
| McPherson County | D2 Severe Drought | 45.16% | 100% | 31 weeks |
| Merrick County | None | 0% | 4 weeks | |
| Morrill County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 0.74% | 100% | 25 weeks |
| Nance County | None | 0% | 3 weeks | |
| Nemaha County | None | 0% | 9 weeks | |
| Nuckolls County | None | 0% | 3 weeks | |
| Otoe County | None | 0% | 9 weeks | |
| Pawnee County | None | 0% | 10 weeks | |
| Perkins County | D2 Severe Drought | 87.79% | 100% | 36 weeks |
| Phelps County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 28.7% | 0% | 47 weeks |
| Pierce County | D1 Moderate Drought | 93.62% | 93.62% | 52 weeks |
| Platte County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 9.26% | 0% | 50 weeks |
| Polk County | None | 0% | 4 weeks | |
| Red Willow County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 9.41% | 0% | 43 weeks |
| Richardson County | None | 0% | 9 weeks | |
| Rock County | D1 Moderate Drought | 63.96% | 63.96% | 35 weeks |
| Saline County | None | 0% | 9 weeks | |
| Sarpy County | None | 0% | 9 weeks | |
| Saunders County | None | 0% | 4 weeks | |
| Scotts Bluff County | D3 Extreme Drought | 99.93% | 100% | 36 weeks |
| Seward County | None | 0% | 5 weeks | |
| Sheridan County | D2 Severe Drought | 59.52% | 100% | 41 weeks |
| Sherman County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 29.02% | 0% | 48 weeks |
| Sioux County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 2.15% | 100% | 24 weeks |
| Stanton County | D1 Moderate Drought | 15.95% | 15.95% | 18 weeks |
| Thayer County | None | 0% | 11 weeks | |
| Thomas County | D2 Severe Drought | 2.97% | 38.37% | 31 weeks |
| Thurston County | D1 Moderate Drought | 11.97% | 11.97% | 18 weeks |
| Valley County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 54.53% | 0% | 48 weeks |
| Washington County | None | 0% | 4 weeks | |
| Wayne County | D1 Moderate Drought | 89.49% | 89.49% | 52 weeks |
| Webster County | None | 0% | 3 weeks | |
| Wheeler County | D1 Moderate Drought | 8.62% | 8.62% | 3 weeks |
| York County | None | 0% | 8 weeks |
Natural disaster risk in Nebraska 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 Nebraska · Drought Monitor data tables · drought.gov current conditions · NOAA seasonal drought outlook
Questions
Is Nebraska in a drought right now?
On the U.S. Drought Monitor valid 13 October 2026, 44.29% of Nebraska is in drought (D1 to D4) and 66.92% is at least abnormally dry (D0 to D4). 22.98% is in D2 Severe Drought or worse.
Which counties in Nebraska are in the worst drought?
This week the most severe category in Nebraska is D4 Exceptional Drought, in Banner County, Box Butte County, Cheyenne County, Dawes County, Kimball County, Morrill County, Sioux 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.