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Drought is a prominent climatic hazard in the south-central United States. This study examines spatial variations in the persistence of meteorological drought in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas (1900-2015). Drought persistence is analyzed separately for droughts of varying severity, as determined by the U.S. National Drought Monitor (USDM). Results indicate that objective drought thresholds should be utilized to improve drought monitoring. With new thresholds, this research identifies areas where drought persistence is greatest and examines how it varies as a function of drought severity. When drought characteristics were examined at a fine resolution, spatial variability was high. In many cases, intraregional differences in drought behavior were not statistically significant. These findings suggest that drought persistence may be less dependent upon continentality than previously thought. Despite intraregional similarities, there is some evidence that drought persistence is highest across central Texas. Drought persistence forecasts in this region may be ineffective as monthly relationships are not statistically significant. However, there is strong evidence of increasing drought lengths with increasing severities. These results have utility for improving the understanding of drought recovery.