Drought in Chelan County, WA: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

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

1. 0
2. 46
3. 1
4. 11
5. 0
6. 47
7. 0
8. 0
9. 0
10. 32
11. 0
12. 0
13. 0
14. 0
15. 20
16. 33
17. 0
18. 6
19. 8
20. 28
21. 5
22. 22
23. 3
24. 20
25. 34
26. 43

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (46 wk), 2005 (47 wk), 2009 (32 wk), 2014 (20 wk), 2015 (33 wk), 2019 (28 wk), 2021 (22 wk), 2023 (20 wk), 2024 (34 wk) and 2025 (43 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016.

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

Against the rest of WA

14th most drought-prone of 39 WA counties; the WA middle is 3.5 in 10. Closest on the list: Klickitat County (3.8 in 10) and Whitman County (3.8 in 10). Driest in WA: Grant County (5 in 10). Least drought: Jefferson County (1.5 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (51% of weeks), then Oct (43%) and Aug (43%). Least in Jan (8%). May to September averages 38%.

1. 8 Jan
2. 12 Feb
3. 14 Mar
4. 25 Apr
5. 28 May
6. 35 Jun
7. 34 Jul
8. 43 Aug
9. 51 Sep
10. 43 Oct
11. 23 Nov
12. 13 Dec

The worst year: 2005

2005: 47 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 27.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 9.9% at D2, 2% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 47 weeks, Feb 13, 2001 to Jan 1, 2002.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 43 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 26 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Chelan County lands on the plan covered in shrinking the lawn. Its worst year, 2005, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Chelan County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.