Massachusetts drought monitor
21% of Massachusetts — about a fifth of the state — is in drought on this week's map , and 7% 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 Massachusetts stands
- Severe drought 7% of Massachusetts
- Moderate drought 14% of Massachusetts
- Abnormally dry 64% of Massachusetts
- No drought 15% of Massachusetts
The Drought Monitor shades land in five steps, from abnormally dry (D0) up to exceptional drought (D4). The worst class anywhere in Massachusetts this week is severe drought (D2).
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 Massachusetts was dry that week.
- Four weeks ago 89% of the state was in drought — it has pulled back since.
- This week last year 5% of Massachusetts was in drought, on the map for August 12, 2025.
- Worst week of the past year 95% in drought, on July 7, 2026.
What this means for burning in Massachusetts
Drought is the reason most burn bans go up. Counties watch how dry the ground and the standing brush are, and a ban can follow the week after the map turns — or not, because the call belongs to the county, not the map.
We don't yet track county burn bans in Massachusetts, so this page is the drought half of the answer. Your county's courthouse, fire marshal, or sheriff has the other half. See the states where we do track burn bans county by county, and what stage 1 and stage 2 restrictions mean on public land.
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.
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 Massachusetts map is the picture these numbers describe.