Drought in Converse County, WY: 5.8 years in 10 since 2000

5.8 years in 10

Converse County, WY: 15 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (19 wk), 2002 (53 wk), 2003 (50 wk), 2004 (52 wk), 2005 (52 wk), 2006 (52 wk), 2007 (18 wk), 2012 (29 wk), 2013 (53 wk), 2020 (28 wk), 2021 (52 wk), 2022 (52 wk), 2023 (19 wk), 2024 (26 wk) and 2025 (23 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

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 WY

9th most drought-prone of 23 WY counties; the WY middle is 5.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Niobrara County (5.8 in 10) and Johnson County (5.8 in 10). Driest in WY: Sweetwater County (7.3 in 10). Least drought: Laramie County (5 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (48% of weeks), then Sep (47%) and Nov (47%). Least in Jun (39%). May to September averages 43%.

44 Jan
46 Feb
45 Mar
45 Apr
42 May
39 Jun
42 Jul
46 Aug
47 Sep
48 Oct
47 Nov
46 Dec

The worst year: 2002

2002: 53 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 44.8% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 29.6% at D2, 14.4% at D3, 67 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 199 weeks, Jul 15, 2003 to May 1, 2007.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 23 weeks. 2016-2025: 6 in 10, against 5.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 40 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.