Drought Climate Summary March 2025

The 2025 Plantersville tornado, which struck near Plantersville, Alabama, on March 16, 2025, snapped a large hardwood tree.  National Weather Service Birmingham, Alabama , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Drought classifications are based on the U.S. Drought Monitor. Details on the extent and severity of drought are online:  droughtmonitor.unl.edu .

The outlook integrates existing conditions with forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center:  www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov .

March saw abnormal dryness or drought develop or worsen across the southwestern Plains to the southern Midwest. This included an area from New Mexico to Texas, as well as Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. Florida and Alabama through southern Pennsylvania saw a mix of improvements and degradations. The northern High Plains into the western and northern Midwest also saw a mix of improvements. The West generally saw improvements throughout March, with the most improvement occurring in the higher elevations of the intermountain West and western Washington. The Northeast also saw some improvements, particularly in Maine.  

Alaska saw abnormally dry conditions expand in the south from Feb. 25 to March 4  and then did not change for the remainder of the month. Hawaii saw improvements and degradations. Puerto Rico remained free of abnormal dryness and drought.  

From Feb. 25, 2025, to March 25, 2025, for the U.S. and Puerto Rico:  

• Abnormal dryness (D0) or worse coverage increased from 57.17 to 58.11%. 
• Moderate drought (D1) or worse coverage increased from 34.86 to 37.43%. 
• Severe drought (D2) or worse coverage increased from 14.57 to 17.65%. 
• Extreme drought (D3) or worse coverage slightly increased from 5.96 to 6.96%. 
• Exceptional drought (D4) coverage increased from 0.55 to 1.41%. 

According to the Climate Prediction Center’s Monthly Drought Outlook for April, drought is likely to persist across much of the contiguous U.S. and Hawaii. Small areas of New Mexico and Florida are expected to see drought develop. The upper and central Mississippi Valley, Ohio River Valley, Mid-Atlantic and New England coastal areas are expected to see improvement or removal of drought conditions, as well as the windward side of Hawaii’s Big Island.  

From Feb. 25 to March 25, temperatures were warmer than normal for most of the country. East of the Rocky Mountains—across the Plains, Midwest, Appalachia and Northeast—temperatures were 3 to 10 degrees above normal. The warmest temperatures were experienced across the Plains, including areas from North Dakota to Texas, the Midwest and parts of the Northeast. West of the Rocky Mountains, temperatures shifted from slightly warmer than normal to slightly cooler than normal across parts of western Nevada, Arizona and California (2 to 4 degrees above or below average). Southern Alabama, Georgia and Florida saw some near-normal temperatures with a mixture of slightly above and below normal temperatures.   

Temperatures across all but western Alaska were warmer than normal. Southern and interior temperatures were as warm as 8 to 10 degrees above normal. The southeast was 2 to 6 degrees above normal.  

Temperatures across Hawaii were 1 to 2 degrees warmer than normal with Kauai, Oahu, the windward side of Maui and the Big Island 2 to 3 degrees above normal. 

 Puerto Rico saw temperatures of 1 to 2 degrees above normal. 

Precipitation was very mixed in March, depending on the location. Numerous storms moved across the country, bringing heavy rain, severe storms, tornadoes, floods, dust storms and blizzards. A West Coast “bomb cyclone” brought significant rain and snow to the Pacific Northwest. Soon thereafter, a powerful cyclone over the central Plains—with surface pressure down to 975 millibars—brought little precipitation and extreme winds. This caused wildfires across Oklahoma and dust from the southern Plains of New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma into Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. Days later, a blizzard from March 19 to 20 brought heavy snow and more dust across the Central Plains and Midwest.  

Outside of some isolated areas of the Plains, conditions were slightly drier than normal. Another storm system that ran through the mostly drier-than-normal South and Southeast ignited over a dozen fires in Arkansas and deadly tornadoes across the region. Arkansas, southeast Missouri and the Appalachian Mountains saw areas of 3 to 6 inches below-normal precipitation. The upper elevations of the Southwest and Rockies, Midwest, upper Northeast and isolated areas of the South and Southeast saw 1 to 3 inches above normal precipitation. Along Texas’ and Louisiana’s southern Gulf Coast, isolated areas of heavy precipitation fell (6 to 12 inches above normal). 

In Alaska, precipitation was a mixture of above- and below-normal amounts (within 3 inches of normal).   

Hawaii was dry throughout March, with most areas 1 to 3 inches below normal and 3 to 6 inches below-normal precipitation in the windward areas. Isolated areas of Kauai and the Big Island were as dry as 6 to 8 inches below normal.  

Puerto Rico’s rainfall was near to above normal (0.5 to 2 inches).  

Drought conditions in the Northeast generally followed the precipitation, with areas of below-normal precipitation degrading and areas with above-normal precipitation seeing improvements. One-category improvements occurred across central Pennsylvania, eastern Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Delaware, New Jersey and Maine had areas of two-category improvements. West Virginia, western and central Maryland and isolated areas of Pennsylvania and New York saw degradations. Two-category degradations developed in northern West Virginia and a small part of western Maryland. 

• Abnormal dryness (D0) or worse coverage slightly decreased from 67.03 to 65.52%. 
• Moderate drought (D1) or worse coverage decreased from 31.13 to 27.08%. 
• Severe drought (D2) or worse coverage decreased from 9.25 to 7.42%. 
• Extreme drought (D3) or worse coverage slightly decreased from 0.86 to 0.27%. 

The Northeast was warmer than normal in March. Temperatures ranged from 2 to 8 degrees above normal. Coastal areas were 2 to 6 degrees above normal and got increasingly warmer closer to the Great Lakes. 

Precipitation was 1.5 inches above or below-normal, except for the Appalachia area, where precipitation was 1.5 to 3 inches below normal. Normal or above-normal precipitation fell along Chesapeake Bay up through New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. 

The Southeast was a mixture of improvements and degradations generally following precipitation. Southern and east-central Alabama had one-category degradation, while eastern Georgia, southern and central Florida, South Carolina, western North Carolina and Virginia experienced one- and two-category degradations. Far southern Florida had a small area of three-category degradations along the Collier, Monroe and Miami-Dade border. Areas that received precipitation saw one- to two-category improvements across central Alabama, southern Georgia, central Florida, northern South Carolina, across central North Carolina and southeastern Virginia.  

• Abnormal dryness (D0) or worse coverage increased from 61.85 to 68.65%. 
• Moderate drought (D1) or worse coverage increased from 22.7 to 32.42%. 
• Severe drought (D2) or worse coverage increased from 1.41 to 3.97%.

Temperatures ranged from above to below normal from the northwest to the southeast, with Florida seeing within 2 degrees of normal. Temperatures across central and northern Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina were 2 to 4 degrees above normal and continued to see warmer temperatures of 4 to 8 degrees above normal further north in North Carolina and Virginia.  

Along the Appalachian Mountains, precipitation was 1 to 3 inches below normal, with northern Georgia, western South Carolina, western North Carolina and western Virginia seeing up to 4 to 5 inches below normal. Areas of central and southern Florida also saw rainfall amounts 1 to 3 inches below normal. Northern Alabama, Florida’s Big Bend to the Atlantic Coast and the Chesapeake Bay area saw at- or above-normal rainfall. 

The South was dominated by above-normal temperatures, below-normal precipitation and widespread expansion and worsening of drought conditions across Texas and Oklahoma, as well as isolated areas of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. Between Feb. 25 and March 25, D4 conditions were introduced in central Texas and expanded throughout the month. Oklahoma saw severe drought expand southward from northern Oklahoma. There were some one-category improvements in northeast Oklahoma and along the Red River of the Oklahoma-Texas border, southern and northwest Mississippi and central Tennessee (where some two-category improvements occurred).  

• Abnormal dryness (D0) or worse coverage increased from 55.79 to 59.6%. 
• Moderate drought (D1) or worse coverage increased from 28.86 to 43.17%. 
• Severe drought (D2) or worse coverage increased from 14.68 to 26.05%. 
• Extreme drought (D3) or worse coverage increased from 8.76 to 14.49%. 
• Exceptional drought (D4) coverage increased from 3.18 to 6.95%. 

Temperatures were well above normal from Feb. 25 to March 25. Central Texas and Arkansas saw the warmest temperatures of 5 to 8 degrees above normal. Elsewhere, temperatures were 2 to 5 degrees above normal. Areas along the Gulf were slightly above to near normal. 

Generally, precipitation was 1 to 3 inches below normal across the South, with the driest areas of 3 to 4 inches below normal in east-central Texas, Arkansas, southern Mississippi and eastern Tennessee. Conversely, southern Texas, Louisiana, central and northern Mississippi and western and central Tennessee saw 1 to 3 inches above normal. Southern Texas and isolated areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee experienced extreme rainfall events, bringing precipitation of 3 to 6 inches above normal for the month.  

The Midwest saw large areas of improvement in March. One-category improvements occurred in central Minnesota, central and eastern Wisconsin into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Michigan, northern Indiana, Iowa and western Missouri. Northern Illinois saw one- and two-category improvements. Areas that missed out on meaningful precipitation saw degradations, including Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and isolated areas of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Far southwest Missouri experienced two-category degradations.  

• Abnormal dryness (D0) or worse coverage decreased from 66.32 to 65.08%. 
• Moderate drought (D1) or worse coverage decreased from 39.7 to 33.13%. 
• Severe drought (D2) or worse coverage decreased from 3.92 to 3.46%. 

March was much warmer than normal across the Midwest, with areas of eastern Iowa to western Indiana seeing temperatures of 5 to 10 degrees above normal. Parts of northern Minnesota across the Great Lakes into central Michigan, as well as central and eastern Kentucky, were 2 to 5 degrees above normal. 

Precipitation was above normal for most of the Midwest. West of the Missouri River across Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois and Indiana along the shores of Lake Michigan received 2 to 3 inches above-normal precipitation. Near Minneapolis, Minnesota, central and northern Wisconsin, northern Michigan (including the Upper Peninsula), and the shores of Lake Michigan in Illinois and Indiana, precipitation amounts were 3 to 5 inches above normal.   

The High Plains experienced a mixture of improvements and worsening of drought conditions from Feb. 25 to March 25. One-category degradation spread across Colorado, South Dakota and isolated areas of North Dakota and Nebraska. Up to three-category degradations occurred in Kansas, with abnormally dry or worse conditions covering 90% of the state (71.96 to 90.24%) and moderate drought or worse covering over half the state (24.82 to 56.84%).  

Improvements were seen across Wyoming, Nebraska and northern and eastern Kansas, where storms brought heavy rain and snow.   

• Abnormal dryness (D0) or worse coverage increased from 78.73 to 83.13%. 
• Moderate drought (D1) or worse coverage increased from 59.57 to 62.04%. 
• Severe drought (D2) or worse coverage slightly decreased from 27.82 to 27.55%. 
• Extreme drought (D3) or worse coverage decreased from 6.66 to 5.85%. 

Areas of the High Plains, east of the Rocky Mountains, saw above-normal temperatures. Along the Missouri River, temperatures were 5 to 10 degrees above normal with surrounding temperatures of 2 to 5 degrees above normal.  

Precipitation across the High Plains was near normal. A series of storms occurred across the Wyoming and Colorado Rockies and a mid-March blizzard swept across central and eastern Nebraska and southeastern South Dakota, leaving these areas with precipitation amounts of 1 to 2 inches above normal for March. Southern Colorado and Kansas experienced the driest conditions, with eastern Kansas seeing precipitation up to 3 inches below normal.  

The Southwest, particularly New Mexico, and isolated areas of northern Montana saw one- to two-category degradations in March. New Mexico is 100% in abnormally dry and drought conditions. From Feb. 25 to March 25, D1, D2 and D3 conditions expanded in New Mexico (60.21 to 88.47%, 29.08 to 67.42% and 13.98 to 27.63%, respectively), and D4 was introduced, covering 2.5% of the state. One-category improvements were seen outside of the Four Corner states, with two-category improvements occurring in northwestern Washington, southern Montana and northeast Nevada. 

• Abnormal dryness (D0) or worse coverage decreased from 67.33 to 65.23%. 
• Moderate drought (D1) or worse coverage increased from 47.97 to 49.06%. 
• Severe drought (D2) or worse coverage increased from 26.7 to 29.85%. 
• Extreme drought (D3) or worse coverage slightly increased from 12.64 to 13.3%. 
• Exceptional drought (D4) coverage increased from 0.26 to 1.21%. 

The West experienced a variety of temperatures in March depending on the location. Temperatures from California, Arizona and parts of Nevada were normal or 2 to 4 degrees below normal. Moving towards the northeast, temperatures became increasingly warmer with temperatures in central and eastern Montana being 5 to 10 degrees above normal. Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and New Mexico ranged from normal to 1 to 4 degrees above normal.  

Precipitation was a mixture of 3 inches above and below normal, with western Washington and Oregon seeing precipitation 3 to 6 inches above normal and isolated areas of 9 to 12 inches above normal. California’s central Bay Region, southern Arizona, New Mexico, and central and eastern Montana were drier than normal.  

Alaska saw abnormally dry conditions expand from 9.58 to 12.05% in the south from Feb. 25 to March 4, and remained status quo for the remainder of the month.  

Temperatures across all but western Alaska were warmer than normal. The southern and interior temperatures were as warm as 8 to 10 degrees above normal. The southeast was 2 to 6 degrees above normal.  

Precipitation was a mixture of above- and below-normal amounts (within 3 inches of normal).   

Hawaii saw improvements and degradations. One-category improvements were on the windward side of Kauai and the Big Island, and one-category degradations occurred on Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Maui and the Big Island. Degradations occurred on the central or leeward sides of the island.  

• Abnormal dryness (D0) or worse coverage decreased from 97.8 to 85.58%. 
• Moderate drought (D1) or worse coverage increased from 22.73 to 57.15%. 
• Severe drought (D2) or worse coverage increased from 0.54 to 3.47%. 

Temperatures across Hawaii were 1 to 2 degrees warmer than normal with Kauai, Oahu, the windward side of Maui and the Big Island 2 to 3 degrees above normal.  

Hawaii was dry throughout March, with most areas seeing precipitation 1 to 3 inches below normal and 3 to 6 inches below normal on windward areas. Isolated areas of Kauai and the Big Island are experiencing 6 to 8 inches of below-normal rainfall.  

Puerto Rico was free of abnormal dryness and drought from Feb. 25 to March 25. Temperatures were 1 to 2 degrees above normal, while rainfall was near to above normal (0.5 to 2 inches).