Drought in Columbia County, PA: 0.4 years in 10 since 2000

0.4 years in 10

Columbia County, PA: 1 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

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

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2022.

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 Dec turns dry.

Against the rest of PA

41st most drought-prone of 67 PA counties; the PA middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Clearfield County (0.8 in 10) and Montour County (0.4 in 10). Driest in PA: Adams County (1.9 in 10). Least drought: Susquehanna County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Dec (12% of weeks), then Jan (8%) and Feb (7%). Least in Aug (0%). May to September averages 2%.

1. 8 Jan
2. 7 Feb
3. 7 Mar
4. 7 Apr
5. 3 May
6. 4 Jun
7. 3 Jul
8. 0 Aug
9. 3 Sep
10. 6 Oct
11. 7 Nov
12. 12 Dec

The worst year: 2002

2002: 13 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 5.4% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 0.4% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 15 weeks, Dec 9, 2025 to Mar 17, 2026.

Lately

Last drought year: 2002, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 0 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 11 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.