Drought in Columbia County, NY: 0.8 years in 10 since 2000

0.8 years in 10

Columbia County, NY: 2 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

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

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (19 wk) and 2016 (16 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025.

A regular lawn is fine here; plan for the odd dry year

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 Nov turns dry.

Against the rest of NY

27th most drought-prone of 62 NY counties; the NY middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Onondaga County (1.2 in 10) and Ulster County (0.8 in 10). Driest in NY: Rockland County (2.3 in 10). Least drought: Otsego County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (12% of weeks), then Dec (11%) and Sep (9%). Least in Oct (3%). May to September averages 5%.

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

The worst year: 2002

2002: 19 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 6.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 1.3% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 27 weeks, Nov 6, 2001 to May 7, 2002.

Lately

Last drought year: 2016, 16 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 2 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Columbia County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2002, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Columbia County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.