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Tennessee Drought Monitor by County
The U.S. Drought Monitor map for Tennessee is released every Thursday. Pick a county below to see the share of its area in each drought category on the latest map, and how that compares with one and four weeks earlier.
Photo: Rainbow chard growing beside orange marigolds in a raised garden bed. Missvain, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Is your Tennessee county in a drought?
Numbers load from the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor county statistics.
How to read the drought categories
| Category | Name | Possible impacts, as the Drought Monitor describes them |
|---|---|---|
| D0 | Abnormally Dry | Going into drought: short-term dryness slowing planting and growth of crops or pastures. Coming out of drought: some lingering water deficits. |
| D1 | Moderate Drought | Some damage to crops and pastures; streams, reservoirs or wells low; some water shortages developing. |
| D2 | Severe Drought | Crop or pasture losses likely; water shortages common; water restrictions may be imposed. |
| D3 | Extreme Drought | Major crop and pasture losses; widespread water shortages or restrictions. |
| D4 | Exceptional Drought | Exceptional and widespread crop and pasture losses; shortages of water in reservoirs, streams and wells, creating water emergencies. |
Category names and descriptions follow the U.S. Drought Monitor drought classification. The map is made by authors who combine rainfall, soil, streamflow and local reports, and it is released every Thursday for conditions on the Tuesday before.
Tennessee drought and watering restriction status
TDEC Drought Updates
The page states no statewide drought or watering restriction. It says public water systems that have issued water conservation requests due to drought are listed on the department's Public Water System Emergency Status Dashboard, and that the dashboard may not contain the most current information.
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Page last updated May 12, 2026. Read November 14, 2026.
More for Tennessee: Tennessee on Drought.gov, lawn care calendar, what to plant now and Tennessee gardening.
Tennessee drought now: questions
How do I check if my Tennessee county is in a drought?
Pick the county in the box above. It shows the percent of the county in each U.S. Drought Monitor category on the latest weekly map, with the same figure for one and four weeks earlier. The full map is on the U.S. Drought Monitor site.
How often is the drought map updated?
The U.S. Drought Monitor is released every Thursday and shows conditions as of the Tuesday before. This page reads the latest county statistics from the Drought Monitor data service and keeps a cached copy.
What do the percentages mean?
Each figure is the share of the county's land area in that category or a worse one, so D0 or worse includes D1 to D4. A county can have part of its area in several categories on the same map.
Does Tennessee have statewide watering restrictions?
The page states no statewide drought or watering restriction. It says public water systems that have issued water conservation requests due to drought are listed on the department's Public Water System Emergency Status Dashboard, and that the dashboard may not contain the most current information. Source: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Page last updated May 12, 2026.
Where does this drought data come from?
The county statistics come from the U.S. Drought Monitor data service at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln National Drought Mitigation Center, a partnership with USDA and NOAA. Nothing here comes from news or weather sites.
Photos: Rainbow chard growing beside orange marigolds in a raised garden bed: Missvain, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Green farm fields near Cowan in Franklin County, Tennessee: Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Farmland in Carter County, Tennessee, with the Iron Mountains on the horizon: Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; The Big South Fork of the Cumberland River in its forested gorge, Tennessee: ChristopherM (talk) (Uploads), CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.