– Share of state experiencing drought conditions (20-year average): 9,071 sq. mi. (22.5% of land area); 914,420 people (21.1% of population)— Moderate drought: 4,103 sq. mi. (10.2% of land area); 409,024 people (9.4% of population)— Severe drought: 1,688 sq. mi. (4.2% of land area); 158,170 people (3.6% of population)— Extreme drought: 499 sq. mi. (1.2% of land area); 44,599 people (1.0% of population)— Exceptional drought: 63 sq. mi. (0.2% of land area); 4,197 people (0.1% of population)As of March 2020, Kentucky is drought-free, with less than 1% of the state classified as abnormally dry. That wasn’t the case in 2019. The first half of that year was wet, but by fall, the state was wracked with a historic drought, its worst since 1895.