Drought in Christian County, MO: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

Christian County, MO: 9 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (16 wk), 2006 (33 wk), 2011 (18 wk), 2012 (28 wk), 2017 (13 wk), 2018 (23 wk), 2020 (15 wk), 2024 (16 wk) and 2025 (20 wk). Not a single drought week in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2019.

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.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (5 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (2.5 in 10).

Against the rest of MO

34th most drought-prone of 115 MO counties; the MO middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Cass County (3.5 in 10) and Randolph County (3.5 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 (38% of weeks), then Sep (32%) and Aug (26%). Least in Jun (6%). May to September averages 18%.

23 Jan
16 Feb
7 Mar
7 Apr
8 May
6 Jun
17 Jul
26 Aug
32 Sep
38 Oct
22 Nov
19 Dec

The worst year: 2006

2006: 33 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 18.4% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 5.9% at D2, 1.1% at D3, 7 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 38 weeks, Jun 19, 2012 to Mar 5, 2013.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 20 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 2.5 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 20 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.