Drought in Aurora County, SD: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

Aurora County, SD: 9 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

20002025

Drought years: 2003 (37 wk), 2004 (21 wk), 2012 (26 wk), 2013 (21 wk), 2017 (14 wk), 2021 (52 wk), 2022 (45 wk), 2023 (39 wk) and 2025 (32 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2018 and 2019.

Plan for drought as normal: shrink the lawn, go drip and natives

Drought is the normal state of things here. Most of the yard goes to natives and gravel on drip; any grass that stays is a small, tough patch.

If you are replacing turf, plant natives in fall so roots set before the Aug peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

This is one step drier than the yearly count alone suggests, because 28% of growing-season weeks here were in drought.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (5 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (2.5 in 10).

Against the rest of SD

40th most drought-prone of 66 SD counties; the SD middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Clay County (3.5 in 10) and Union County (3.5 in 10). Driest in SD: Jackson County (6.9 in 10). Least drought: Clark County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Aug (36% of weeks), then Apr (34%) and Mar (31%). Least in Oct (17%). May to September averages 28%.

23 Jan
30 Feb
31 Mar
34 Apr
28 May
22 Jun
30 Jul
36 Aug
23 Sep
17 Oct
22 Nov
24 Dec

The worst year: 2021

2021: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 26.7% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 11.9% at D2, 4% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 83 weeks, Nov 10, 2020 to Jun 7, 2022.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 32 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 2.5 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 30 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.