Drought in Caldwell County, MO: 3.1 years in 10 since 2000

3.1 years in 10

Caldwell County, MO: 8 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (22 wk), 2002 (19 wk), 2003 (49 wk), 2006 (29 wk), 2012 (28 wk), 2013 (34 wk), 2018 (24 wk) and 2023 (30 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021 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 MO

54th most drought-prone of 115 MO counties; the MO middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Worth County (3.1 in 10) and Grundy County (3.1 in 10). Driest in MO: Jasper County (4.6 in 10). Least drought: Perry County (1.2 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (32% of weeks), then Sep (28%) and Aug (26%). Least in Apr (10%). May to September averages 21%.

18 Jan
15 Feb
11 Mar
10 Apr
14 May
18 Jun
19 Jul
26 Aug
28 Sep
32 Oct
26 Nov
19 Dec

The worst year: 2003

2003: 49 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 19.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 8.9% at D2, 3.2% at D3, 7 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 42 weeks, Sep 10, 2002 to Jun 24, 2003.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 30 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.