Recent flash drought intensification across the south-central United States, driven by persistent above-normal temperatures and below-average precipitation through early September, forms the main driver of current US Drought Monitor assessments. The weekly USDM, produced jointly by the National Drought Mitigation Center, NOAA, USDA, and NASA, integrates precipitation deficits, soil moisture, streamflow, and vegetation indices to delineate D4 exceptional drought, the most severe category on the five-level scale. As of the September 8 map, D4 covered roughly 1.5 percent of the contiguous United States, concentrated in limited southern and Plains areas amid broader D1–D3 expansion. The next release, incorporating data through mid-September, will determine state-level D4 presence for the target week, with short-term outlooks favoring above-normal precipitation over the Four Corners potentially easing conditions while drier trends persist elsewhere.