Drought in Big Stone County, MN: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

Big Stone County, MN: 10 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (13 wk), 2003 (23 wk), 2004 (21 wk), 2012 (29 wk), 2013 (27 wk), 2020 (31 wk), 2021 (26 wk), 2023 (32 wk), 2024 (13 wk) and 2025 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2017 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 Feb peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of MN

33rd most drought-prone of 87 MN counties; the MN middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Murray County (3.8 in 10) and Scott County (3.8 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 Feb (30% of weeks), then Mar (29%) and Sep (26%). Least in May (8%). May to September averages 17%.

20 Jan
30 Feb
29 Mar
23 Apr
8 May
13 Jun
18 Jul
22 Aug
26 Sep
22 Oct
19 Nov
20 Dec

The worst year: 2023

2023: 32 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 20.7% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 4.1% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 45 weeks, Jun 2, 2020 to Apr 6, 2021.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 16 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.