Drought in Aroostook County, ME: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000

1.9 years in 10

Aroostook County, ME: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (16 wk), 2002 (41 wk), 2003 (26 wk), 2020 (17 wk) and 2025 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023.

A regular lawn is fine here; plan for the odd dry year

Real droughts are rare here. A smart controller that skips watering after rain covers the odd dry year.

You can keep a regular lawn. Worth doing: a rain-sensing or smart controller, and deeper, less frequent watering if Sep turns dry.

Against the rest of ME

15th most drought-prone of 16 ME counties; the ME middle is 2.3 in 10. Closest on the list: Somerset County (1.9 in 10) and Penobscot County (1.5 in 10). Driest in ME: Knox County (3.1 in 10). Least drought: Penobscot County (1.5 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (16% of weeks), then Nov (15%) and Oct (15%). Least in Jul (4%). May to September averages 8%.

11 Jan
11 Feb
11 Mar
11 Apr
7 May
4 Jun
4 Jul
7 Aug
16 Sep
15 Oct
15 Nov
14 Dec

The worst year: 2002

2002: 41 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 10.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 4.3% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 45 weeks, Aug 27, 2002 to Jul 1, 2003.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 1.9 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 26 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.