The four worst droughts in US history were:
- The Dust Bowl (1930s) which covered most of the Western states and lasted at least four years.1National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), "The Dust Bowl," drought.unl.edu, accessed September 2026. https://drought.unl.edu/dustbowl/2NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, "A Historical Perspective on Drought," ncei.noaa.gov, August 2019. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/historical-perspective-drought
- The Texas/Southern Plains Drought (1950-1957) was the worst drought in Texas history and led to many farm foreclosures and bankruptcies.2NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, "A Historical Perspective on Drought," ncei.noaa.gov, August 2019. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/historical-perspective-drought3Texas State Historical Association (Handbook of Texas, Roy Sylvan Dunn), "The History and Impact of Droughts in Texas," tshaonline.org, October 2020 (last revised). https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/droughts
- The Midwest Drought (1988-1989) destroyed 30% of the US corn crop, parts of the Mississippi shrank to a “trickle.”4U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Impact of the drought on corn exports: paying the price (Beyond the Numbers)," bls.gov, November 2012. https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-1/impact-of-the-drought-on-corn-exports-paying-the-price.htm
- The Plains/Midwest Drought (2011-2012) where 80% of US agricultural land experienced drought conditions and over 70% of the nation's crop and livestock production sat in moderate or worse drought zones.5USDA Economic Research Service (archived copy hosted by NDMC), "U.S. Drought 2012: Farm and Food Impacts," drought.unl.edu, 2012 to 2013 (archived copy printed November 2015). https://drought.unl.edu/archive/assessments/USDA-ERS-2012-farm-food-impacts.pdf