Arkansas drought monitor
62% of Arkansas — about two thirds of the state — is in drought on this week's map , and 27% of it is in severe drought or worse .
From the U.S. Drought Monitor map for . A new one comes out every Thursday morning.
Where Arkansas stands
- Exceptional drought under 1% of Arkansas
- Extreme drought 5% of Arkansas
- Severe drought 21% of Arkansas
- Moderate drought 35% of Arkansas
- Abnormally dry 32% of Arkansas
- No drought 6% of Arkansas
The Drought Monitor shades land in five steps, from abnormally dry (D0) up to exceptional drought (D4). The worst class anywhere in Arkansas this week is exceptional drought (D4).
How the year has run
- Aug 2025
- Dec 2025
- Apr 2026
- Aug 2026
Each column is one week, oldest on the left. The taller the color, the more of Arkansas was dry that week.
- Four weeks ago 54% of the state was in drought — it has spread since.
- This week last year 4% of Arkansas was in drought, on the map for August 12, 2025.
- Worst week of the past year over 99% in drought, on April 14, 2026.
What this means for burning in Arkansas
Drought is the reason most burn bans go up. Counties watch how dry the ground and the standing brush are, and a county commission can put a ban in place the week after the map turns — or leave one off while a neighboring county has one, because the call is theirs to make.
Right now 67 of 75 Arkansas counties are under a burn ban. See which ones, county by county.
A dry map is not a burn ban, and neither is this page. Rules change fast in dry weather — confirm with your county fire marshal or burn line before you light.
Arkansas drought county by county
65 of 75 counties have moderate drought or worse somewhere inside them. Driest first. County figures are from the map for .
| County | Worst drought class | Share of the county in drought |
|---|---|---|
| Desha County | Exceptional drought | 100% |
| Drew County | Exceptional drought | 100% |
| Chicot County | Exceptional drought | 96% |
| Bradley County | Extreme drought | 100% |
| Clay County | Extreme drought | 100% |
| Cleveland County | Extreme drought | 100% |
| Greene County | Extreme drought | 100% |
| Lincoln County | Extreme drought | 100% |
| Lonoke County | Extreme drought | 100% |
| Perry County | Extreme drought | 100% |
| Randolph County | Extreme drought | 100% |
| Yell County | Extreme drought | 100% |
| Ashley County | Extreme drought | 95% |
| Conway County | Extreme drought | 92% |
| Prairie County | Extreme drought | 79% |
| Pope County | Extreme drought | 64% |
| Arkansas County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Dallas County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Faulkner County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Garland County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Independence County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Jefferson County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Lawrence County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Logan County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Pulaski County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Saline County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Sharp County | Severe drought | 100% |
| White County | Severe drought | over 99% |
| Calhoun County | Severe drought | 91% |
| Monroe County | Severe drought | 90% |
| Phillips County | Severe drought | 85% |
| Izard County | Severe drought | 79% |
| Craighead County | Severe drought | 73% |
| Fulton County | Severe drought | 61% |
| Johnson County | Severe drought | 52% |
| Montgomery County | Severe drought | 50% |
| Union County | Severe drought | 39% |
| Ouachita County | Severe drought | 18% |
| Stone County | Severe drought | 8% |
| Grant County | Moderate drought | 100% |
| Hot Spring County | Moderate drought | 100% |
| Sebastian County | Moderate drought | 100% |
| Crawford County | Moderate drought | over 99% |
| Benton County | Moderate drought | 98% |
| Jackson County | Moderate drought | 83% |
| Columbia County | Moderate drought | 83% |
| Franklin County | Moderate drought | 82% |
| Scott County | Moderate drought | 78% |
| Washington County | Moderate drought | 63% |
| Sevier County | Moderate drought | 46% |
| Clark County | Moderate drought | 45% |
| Lee County | Moderate drought | 43% |
| Lafayette County | Moderate drought | 36% |
| Woodruff County | Moderate drought | 29% |
| Mississippi County | Moderate drought | 22% |
| Cleburne County | Moderate drought | 21% |
| Little River County | Moderate drought | 16% |
| Nevada County | Moderate drought | 16% |
| Carroll County | Moderate drought | 13% |
| Van Buren County | Moderate drought | 12% |
| Madison County | Moderate drought | 9% |
| Hempstead County | Moderate drought | 3% |
| Polk County | Moderate drought | 2% |
| Poinsett County | Moderate drought | under 1% |
| St. Francis County | Moderate drought | under 1% |
| Baxter County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
| Boone County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
| Crittenden County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
| Cross County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
| Howard County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
| Marion County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
| Miller County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
| Newton County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
| Pike County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
| Searcy County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
County links go to that county's burn ban status.
What the drought classes mean
- D4 · Exceptional drought
- Exceptional and widespread crop and pasture losses, with water emergencies in reservoirs, streams and wells.
- D3 · Extreme drought
- Major crop and pasture losses, and widespread water shortages or restrictions.
- D2 · Severe drought
- Crop and pasture losses likely, water shortages common, and water restrictions usually in force.
- D1 · Moderate drought
- Some damage to crops and pasture, streams and wells running low, and voluntary water-use cutbacks in some places.
- D0 · Abnormally dry
- Going into or coming out of drought — short-term dryness slowing planting or growth. Not drought yet, but the step before it.
The map comes from the U.S. Drought Monitor, put together each week by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with NOAA and the USDA. We read their state and county figures every week and show them here — the Monitor's own Arkansas map is the picture these numbers describe.