All across the Heartland, a lack of rain is tormenting this year's crops . Does your state have a drought plan? Let’s play citizen journalist here: If you find your state’s plans, let us know!

Drought is a tough situation and it is toughest when moisture goes below a pre-determined "normal" line. What "normal" is, and where that line is, varies among several indices , or methods of getting and presenting data for a big picture.

Hey, this is science—you knew it would get complicated.

Anyway, the data takes into account rainfall, snowpack, groundwater levels and anything else that makes up the the water resources in an area. It will be different resources in Bali than in Ventura, say, or Yankton. And this year, it's rough going in the nation's breadbasket. And in the South and Southeast, too. Levels are "moderately" and "very" dry. The Dakotas are hardest hit.

The Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln  details the plans for drought and how to get prepared. Drought as "disaster"—that is, as a natural hazard that strikes a large area and affects a population—are quite different than floods or hurricanes . The preparedness plans reflect this and have a "social" scale. Whole states and regions have to coordinate. Most states and regions have plans and Illinois has a long-term plan.