Drought in Buffalo County, WI: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2003 (20 wk), 2004 (18 wk), 2008 (16 wk), 2009 (34 wk), 2012 (19 wk), 2013 (34 wk), 2014 (16 wk), 2022 (17 wk), 2023 (19 wk) and 2024 (14 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

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 Dec peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of WI

16th most drought-prone of 72 WI counties; the WI middle is 2.7 in 10. Closest on the list: Pepin County (3.8 in 10) and Iron County (3.5 in 10). Driest in WI: Barron County (4.6 in 10). Least drought: Fond du Lac County (0.8 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Dec (24% of weeks), then Oct (23%) and Nov (22%). Least in May (9%). May to September averages 13%.

15 Jan
16 Feb
19 Mar
16 Apr
9 May
11 Jun
10 Jul
15 Aug
21 Sep
23 Oct
22 Nov
24 Dec

The worst year: 2009

2009: 34 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 16.7% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 5.7% at D2, 1.1% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 47 weeks, Sep 16, 2008 to Aug 4, 2009.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 14 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 7 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.