Drought in Butler County, PA: 0 years in 10 since 2000

0 years in 10

Butler County, PA: 0 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. No full-season drought since 2000.

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

20002025

No year reached the drought line. Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2024.

A regular lawn is fine here

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 Aug turns dry.

Against the rest of PA

62nd most drought-prone of 67 PA counties; the PA middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Wyoming County (0 in 10) and Armstrong County (0 in 10). Driest in PA: Adams County (1.9 in 10). Least drought: Susquehanna County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Aug (8% of weeks), then Sep (8%) and Oct (6%). Least in Dec (0%). May to September averages 4%.

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

The worst year: 2001

2001: 11 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 2.3% of all weeks at D1 or worse, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 7 weeks, Sep 11, 2001 to Oct 23, 2001.

Lately

No drought year on record. 2016-2025: 0 in 10, against 0 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Butler County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2001, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Butler County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.