What does the soil moisture map show?

It shows how wet the ground is right now compared to each station's own history for this time of year, not a raw moisture percentage. Brown areas are drier than normal, teal areas are wetter than normal, and the neutral band is about normal. Comparing each station against its own history is what makes the map meaningful: a raw volumetric water content number is not comparable between two different soils.

How is wetter or drier than normal decided?

For each station, the current reading is compared against that station's own moisture readings around this date across several years, after leaving out frozen-soil days. A station needs at least two years of its own history before it appears on the map. Stations without enough history, or reading frozen soil, are left off rather than shown with a guess.

Map of current soil moisture across the United States, showing where the ground is wetter or drier than normal for this time of year, from USDA SCAN and NOAA USCRN stations

Soil Moisture Map

Q: Where does the soil moisture data come from?

Every value is measured by an in-ground sensor, not estimated from a weather model. Readings come from the USDA SCAN network and NOAA USCRN stations across the continental United States, at the 2-inch root-zone depth, refreshed daily. The map interpolates between stations, so it is most accurate near station locations.

Based on readings through November 2, 2026, 154 of the 296 USDA and NOAA stations with enough of their own history to compare are wetter than normal for the date, 68 are about normal, and 74 are drier than normal. Each station is compared against its own readings for this time of year, not against a national average.

This soil moisture map, also called a ground moisture map, shows where the ground is wetter or drier than normal across the United States. Every value is measured by an in-ground sensor at the USDA SCAN and NOAA USCRN stations, then compared against that station’s own history for this time of year. That comparison is the point: a raw moisture percentage means little on its own, because 25 percent water in a sandy soil and a clay soil are not the same condition.

Today’s National Soil Moisture Map

Interpolated from the latest 2-inch readings at each station and refreshed daily. Brown is drier than normal, teal is wetter than normal, and the neutral band is about normal.

Soil Moisture by State

Every state with enough station coverage to compare against its own history has its own page, with the stations measuring it and how each one reads against its normal for the date.

Understanding the Map

The map does not show a raw moisture number. It shows each station’s current reading as a position in that station’s own history for the date, so it reads the same way everywhere:

Brown: drier than this station normally is for the date
Neutral: about normal for the date
Teal: wetter than this station normally is for the date

About the Data

Soil moisture readings come from the USDA SCAN network and NOAA USCRN stations across the continental United States, measured at the 2-inch root-zone depth and updated daily. The surface between stations is generated with inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation, so readings are most accurate near station locations. Each station is compared against at least two years of its own history, with frozen-soil days left out; stations without enough history are not shown. These stations belong to the 326 active USDA and NOAA in-ground monitoring stations SoilTemps reads; only those with a moisture sensor and at least two years of their own history are compared here.

Every station value on this map is measured by an in-ground sensor, not estimated from a weather model. The methodology page covers the sensor networks, depths, and update cadence. For your ZIP code, the soil temperature and moisture toolshows the nearest station’s current reading.