Drier weather across the Midwest and Upper Midwest has ushered in a new wave of drought concerns, with portions of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Indiana newly appearing on the U.S. Drought Monitor, according to the Nutrien Weekly Weather Intelligence Report by meteorologist Eric Snodgrass.
As of late May 2026, drought now covers 77 percent of the contiguous United States, marking the most extensive late-spring drought in the 26-year history of the monitor.
The severity-and-coverage index stands at 199, while the share of the country experiencing severe or worse drought has climbed to 42 percent—both all-time highs for this season
Forecasts suggested June will bring drier conditions to the Plains and West and wetter weather in the East, before a July reversal—wetter in the North, drier in the South and East, with storms at the margins.