A map released Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019, shows Alaska drought conditions. (Image via United State Drought Monitor)

A map released Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019, shows Alaska drought conditions. (Image via United State Drought Monitor)

Peninsula emerges from drought

The Kenai Peninsula was first categorized by the U.S. Drought Monitor as abnormally dry on July 9.

The Kenai Peninsula is no longer in a drought, according to Thursday’s updated U.S. Drought Monitor Map.

Last week’s map showed the area around the Swan Lake Fire was in a level one drought, also known as a moderate drought. That drought was downgraded Thursday, showing the northern half of the Kenai Peninsula is “abnormally dry,” which indicates the area is recovering from drought and there are “some lingering water deficits.”

Southcentral Alaska saw “significant” snowfall last week, Thursday’s drought monitor’s summary said. Earlier precipitation, combined with the snowfall helped to downgrade the level one drought in the northwestern portion of the peninsula.

The Kenai Peninsula was first categorized by the U.S. Drought Monitor as abnormally dry on July 9. By July 16, the entire peninsula was placed in a level one drought. By the Aug. 13 monitor map, the eastern peninsula was placed into a level two drought, known as a severe drought. On Aug. 20, the area around the Swan Lake Fire, just north of Sterling, was placed into a level three drought, known as an extreme drought. The extreme drought wasn’t downgraded until Sept. 24.

The Kenai Peninsula experienced direct impacts from this summer’s drought when little rainfall and dry conditions allowed the Swan Lake Fire to swell up and burn more than 160,000 acres. Several peninsula communities relying on reservoirs and snowfall for drinking water saw their reserves dry up, prompting multiple emergency declarations.

The U.S. Drought Monitor provides a state-by-state list of potential impacts for each level of drought. All states and Puerto Rico are included, except for Alaska, where droughts are unprecedented.

The U.S. Drought Monitor — produced in partnership with the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — measures droughts using five levels — level zero being abnormally dry conditions with no drought, and the fourth level being an exceptional drought. The U.S. Drought Monitor Map is updated every Thursday.

More in News

Emilie Hollister. (Photo courtesy Kenai Police Department)
Police seek info on student reported missing early Wednesday

Emilie Hollister, 14, has been missing since leaving Kenai Middle School at around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The Oceania Riviera stands out against a bluebird sky at the Homer Harbor on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. Over 1200 passengers from aboard the boat explored Homer throughout the beautiful day. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
Homer tourism season kicks off with arrival of cruise ships

The first cruise ship of the season arrived April 28 with 930 passengers.

tease
‘Tomorrow — remember you are still a learner’

Kachemak Bay Campus graduated 49 students during its 55th annual commencement hosted on May 7.

Mt. Redoubt rises above Cook Inlet and the Anchor River drainage as fireweed is in bloom, as seen from Diamond Ridge Road on Friday, July 22, 2022, near Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Native plants provide lifeline for local songbirds

Shorebird Festival talk highlights importance of native plants.

Sterling Elementary School students collect trash from the banks of the Kenai River near Bing’s Landing in Sterling, Alaska, during the 10th Annual Kenai River Spring Cleanup on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Cleaning up the mess that’s left behind

Students from six local schools combed for litter during the 10th Annual Kenai River Spring Cleanup.

Kenai City Hall on Feb. 20, 2020, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai land sales proposal delayed amid council concerns

The ordinance would amend city code to add new language allowing officers and employees to participate in property sales.

Greg Springer delivers a presentation on sockeye fishing during A Day at the River at Centennial Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, May 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Gearing up for summer fishing

Trout Unlimited and the Kenai Watershed Forum host “A Day at the River.”

Tyson Cox speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough awards Homer schools improvements contracts

Funding for improvements to the Homer High School entrance comes out of the 2022 bond package.

Most Read