Drought in Athens County, OH: 1.2 years in 10 since 2000

1.2 years in 10

Athens County, OH: 3 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

1. 1
2. 0
3. 6
4. 0
5. 0
6. 2
7. 0
8. 20
9. 1
10. 0
11. 0
12. 0
13. 18
14. 0
15. 0
16. 0
17. 0
18. 0
19. 0
20. 0
21. 0
22. 0
23. 1
24. 6
25. 26
26. 2

20002025

Drought years: 2007 (20 wk), 2012 (18 wk) and 2024 (26 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

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 OH

28th most drought-prone of 88 OH counties; the OH middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Hardin County (1.2 in 10) and Adams County (0.8 in 10). Driest in OH: Williams County (2.7 in 10). Least drought: Ashtabula County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (16% of weeks), then Oct (14%) and Jul (13%). Least in May (0%). May to September averages 9%.

1. 1 Jan
2. 0 Feb
3. 0 Mar
4. 0 Apr
5. 0 May
6. 6 Jun
7. 13 Jul
8. 12 Aug
9. 16 Sep
10. 14 Oct
11. 5 Nov
12. 4 Dec

The worst year: 2024

2024: 26 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 5.9% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 1.6% at D2, 0.9% at D3, 11 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 26 weeks, Jul 2, 2024 to Dec 24, 2024.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 26 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 1.3 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Athens County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2024, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Athens County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.