Drought in Benton County, MN: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2003 (24 wk), 2004 (19 wk), 2006 (25 wk), 2007 (23 wk), 2012 (30 wk), 2013 (28 wk), 2021 (28 wk), 2023 (30 wk) and 2024 (16 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2025.

Keep a lawn, but switch to drought-tolerant grass

Dry years come often enough to kill a thirsty lawn every few summers. Keep the lawn, reseed with a drought-tolerant mix, and put the beds on drip.

If you reseed, use a drought-tolerant mix and do it well clear of Oct, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of MN

58th most drought-prone of 87 MN counties; the MN middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Swift County (3.5 in 10) and Mahnomen County (3.5 in 10). Driest in MN: Wadena County (5 in 10). Least drought: Pennington County (1.9 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (29% of weeks), then Sep (28%) and Feb (27%). Least in Jun (6%). May to September averages 15%.

21 Jan
27 Feb
19 Mar
17 Apr
8 May
6 Jun
15 Jul
21 Aug
28 Sep
29 Oct
21 Nov
18 Dec

The worst year: 2023

2023: 30 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 19.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 6.3% at D2, 1% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 42 weeks, Jun 6, 2023 to Mar 19, 2024.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 16 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 15 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.