Drought in Carlton County, MN: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2003 (18 wk), 2004 (13 wk), 2006 (25 wk), 2007 (35 wk), 2012 (28 wk), 2013 (18 wk), 2021 (25 wk), 2023 (20 wk), 2024 (18 wk) and 2025 (24 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022.

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

Against the rest of MN

37th most drought-prone of 87 MN counties; the MN middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Brown County (3.8 in 10) and Norman 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 Oct (28% of weeks), then Mar (27%) and Sep (24%). Least in Jun (6%). May to September averages 16%.

19 Jan
18 Feb
27 Mar
22 Apr
11 May
6 Jun
18 Jul
21 Aug
24 Sep
28 Oct
23 Nov
22 Dec

The worst year: 2007

2007: 35 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 19.8% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 8.6% at D2, 2.7% at D3, 3 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 39 weeks, Jul 11, 2006 to Apr 3, 2007.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 24 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 32 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.