Drought
Above normalOregon drought
Share of state area in drought (D1-D4) or worse, week over week
Data through Sep 29, 2026 · source last checked Oct 1, 2026 · page revised Oct 1, 2026
Cite
- % in drought
About this data
- Source
- US Drought Monitor (National Drought Mitigation Center, USDA, NOAA)
- Series
- Share of area in moderate drought (D1) or worse
- Geography
- Oregon
- Unit
- %
- Calculation
- Conditions as of the prior Tuesday
- Last observation
- Sep 29, 2026
- Update frequency
- Weekly, released Thursdays
Drought held steady week over week (now 88%).
Drought covered 88% of Oregon on 2026-09-29, unchanged from the week prior. Month over month, the state improved 3 points, but year over year drought coverage worsened 41 points and now sits 27 points above the 5-year median.
| Period | Current | Prior | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week over week | 88% | 88% | +0 pts |
| Month over month | 88% | 92% | -3 pts |
| Year over year | 88% | 48% | +41 pts |
| vs 5-yr median | 88% | 61% | +27 pts |
| Category | Share of area in this category | At this level or worse |
|---|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry | 10.2% | 98.5% |
| D1 moderate drought | 30.7% | 88.3% |
| D2 severe drought | 37.3% | 57.6% |
| D3 extreme drought | 20.2% | 20.2% |
| D4 exceptional drought | 0% | 0% |
| County | Area in drought (D1-D4) | Since last week | Most severe category | Weeks in drought |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Klamath County | 100% | no change | D3 extreme drought | 30 |
Each county is read from the same weekly US Drought Monitor map, inside the county line. Weeks in drought counts the weekly maps in a row, up to the latest, that show any of the county in D1 or worse.
Previous weeks
Week of Sep 22, 2026
Drought coverage eased to 88% of Oregon as of Sept. 22, down 3 percentage points from the prior week. Year over year, coverage has worsened, up 37 percentage points. The current level sits 27 percentage points above the 5-year median.
Week of Sep 8, 2026
Oregon's drought coverage held steady at 92% week over week, but sits 39 percentage points higher than a year ago. The state's current coverage runs 31 percentage points above the 5-year median of 61%.
Week of Sep 1, 2026
Oregon drought covered 92% of state area as of 2026-09-01, up 1 percentage point on the week. Year over year, drought worsened 37 points. At 92%, coverage sits 35 points above the 5-year median of 56%.
Week of Aug 25, 2026
Oregon drought held steady at 91% of state area this week. Coverage has risen 3 percentage points month over month and 36 percentage points year over year, sitting 25 percentage points above the 5-year median.
Oregon drought conditions
Oregon has 88.3% of its area in drought (D1 or worse) on the US Drought Monitor map dated Sep 29, 2026, and 98.5% at least abnormally dry (D0 or worse). The most severe category present is D3, extreme drought, covering 20.2% of the state.
Over the last 52 weekly maps the share in drought ranged from 15.8% (Jan 6, 2026) to 91.7% (Sep 1, 2026), and every one of them showed at least some drought.
The Monitor sorts land into five categories, from D0, abnormally dry and not yet drought, to D4, exceptional drought, and this page counts D1 through D4 as drought. The guide to what D0 to D4 mean explains each class, who draws the weekly map and why it lags a fast-moving storm.