Is South Dakota in a drought?
This week's U.S. Drought Monitor for South Dakota, and the category in each of its 66 counties, from the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Yes, in part: 61.3% of South Dakota is in drought (D1 to D4).
84.66% is at least abnormally dry (D0 to D4), 8.95% in severe drought or worse (D2 to D4), 0.33% 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, 56 of 66 counties had some drought (D1 or worse); 8 more were abnormally dry (D0) only. D3 Extreme Drought somewhere in 1. D2 Severe Drought somewhere in 14.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora County | D1 Moderate Drought | 0.01% | 0.01% | 34 weeks |
| Beadle County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 2.96% | 0% | 35 weeks |
| Bennett County | D1 Moderate Drought | 52.65% | 52.65% | 36 weeks |
| Bon Homme County | D1 Moderate Drought | 33.49% | 33.49% | 53 weeks |
| Brookings County | D1 Moderate Drought | 87% | 87% | 35 weeks |
| Brown County | D1 Moderate Drought | 2.3% | 2.3% | 3 weeks |
| Brule County | D1 Moderate Drought | 0.02% | 0.02% | 39 weeks |
| Buffalo County | None | 0% | 4 weeks | |
| Butte County | D2 Severe Drought | 29.01% | 100% | 22 weeks |
| Campbell County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 100% | 0% | 23 weeks |
| Charles Mix County | D1 Moderate Drought | 52.16% | 52.16% | 52 weeks |
| Clark County | D1 Moderate Drought | 12.19% | 12.19% | 12 weeks |
| Clay County | D1 Moderate Drought | 52.56% | 52.56% | 53 weeks |
| Codington County | D1 Moderate Drought | 94.21% | 94.21% | 5 weeks |
| Corson County | D1 Moderate Drought | 89.01% | 89.01% | 16 weeks |
| Custer County | D1 Moderate Drought | 100% | 100% | 38 weeks |
| Davison County | D1 Moderate Drought | 35.67% | 35.67% | 50 weeks |
| Day County | D1 Moderate Drought | 27.39% | 27.39% | 5 weeks |
| Deuel County | D1 Moderate Drought | 33.5% | 33.5% | 29 weeks |
| Dewey County | D2 Severe Drought | 52.87% | 100% | 14 weeks |
| Douglas County | D1 Moderate Drought | 87.68% | 87.68% | 50 weeks |
| Edmunds County | D2 Severe Drought | 5.13% | 21.28% | 13 weeks |
| Fall River County | D1 Moderate Drought | 100% | 100% | at least 54 weeks |
| Faulk County | D2 Severe Drought | 20.91% | 75.23% | 13 weeks |
| Grant County | D1 Moderate Drought | 52.49% | 52.49% | 5 weeks |
| Gregory County | D1 Moderate Drought | 86.5% | 86.5% | at least 54 weeks |
| Haakon County | D1 Moderate Drought | 98.28% | 98.28% | 12 weeks |
| Hamlin County | D1 Moderate Drought | 11.27% | 11.27% | 3 weeks |
| Hand County | D1 Moderate Drought | 10.85% | 10.85% | 12 weeks |
| Hanson County | D1 Moderate Drought | 99.64% | 99.64% | 53 weeks |
| Harding County | D3 Extreme Drought | 9.42% | 100% | 10 weeks |
| Hughes County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 31.55% | 0% | 35 weeks |
| Hutchinson County | D1 Moderate Drought | 94.74% | 94.74% | 53 weeks |
| Hyde County | D2 Severe Drought | 1.42% | 46.22% | 12 weeks |
| Jackson County | D1 Moderate Drought | 59.84% | 59.84% | 34 weeks |
| Jerauld County | None | 0% | 3 weeks | |
| Jones County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 11.27% | 0% | at least 54 weeks |
| Kingsbury County | D1 Moderate Drought | 11.62% | 11.62% | 31 weeks |
| Lake County | D1 Moderate Drought | 100% | 100% | 53 weeks |
| Lawrence County | D2 Severe Drought | 32.92% | 100% | 29 weeks |
| Lincoln County | D1 Moderate Drought | 4.28% | 4.28% | 53 weeks |
| Lyman County | D1 Moderate Drought | 0.26% | 0.26% | 39 weeks |
| Marshall County | D2 Severe Drought | 1.83% | 71.81% | 6 weeks |
| McCook County | D1 Moderate Drought | 100% | 100% | 53 weeks |
| McPherson County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 84.67% | 0% | 23 weeks |
| Meade County | D2 Severe Drought | 41.14% | 100% | 29 weeks |
| Mellette County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 86.3% | 0% | at least 54 weeks |
| Miner County | D1 Moderate Drought | 57.77% | 57.77% | 34 weeks |
| Minnehaha County | D1 Moderate Drought | 95.99% | 95.99% | 53 weeks |
| Moody County | D1 Moderate Drought | 100% | 100% | 53 weeks |
| Oglala Lakota County | D1 Moderate Drought | 100% | 100% | 36 weeks |
| Pennington County | D2 Severe Drought | 3.9% | 100% | 33 weeks |
| Perkins County | D1 Moderate Drought | 82.02% | 82.02% | 13 weeks |
| Potter County | D2 Severe Drought | 100% | 100% | 14 weeks |
| Roberts County | D2 Severe Drought | 14.09% | 100% | 6 weeks |
| Sanborn County | D1 Moderate Drought | 1.34% | 1.34% | 34 weeks |
| Spink County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 88.99% | 0% | 34 weeks |
| Stanley County | D2 Severe Drought | 6.51% | 41.2% | 12 weeks |
| Sully County | D2 Severe Drought | 44.98% | 90.67% | 14 weeks |
| Todd County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 36.6% | 0% | at least 54 weeks |
| Tripp County | D1 Moderate Drought | 56.38% | 56.38% | 39 weeks |
| Turner County | D1 Moderate Drought | 83.23% | 83.23% | 53 weeks |
| Union County | D1 Moderate Drought | 1.24% | 1.24% | 53 weeks |
| Walworth County | D2 Severe Drought | 25.12% | 60.69% | 13 weeks |
| Yankton County | D1 Moderate Drought | 100% | 100% | 53 weeks |
| Ziebach County | D1 Moderate Drought | 100% | 100% | 14 weeks |
Natural disaster risk in South Dakota 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 South Dakota · Drought Monitor data tables · drought.gov current conditions · NOAA seasonal drought outlook
Questions
Is South Dakota in a drought right now?
On the U.S. Drought Monitor valid 13 October 2026, 61.3% of South Dakota is in drought (D1 to D4) and 84.66% is at least abnormally dry (D0 to D4). 8.95% is in D2 Severe Drought or worse.
Which counties in South Dakota are in the worst drought?
This week the most severe category in South Dakota is D3 Extreme Drought, in Harding 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.