Drought in Coos County, NH: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000

1.9 years in 10

Coos County, NH: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (21 wk), 2002 (18 wk), 2020 (14 wk), 2021 (14 wk) and 2025 (20 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2023.

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 Sep turns dry.

Against the rest of NH

9th most drought-prone of 10 NH counties; the NH middle is 2.5 in 10. Closest on the list: Carroll County (1.9 in 10) and Grafton County (1.5 in 10). Driest in NH: Strafford County (3.1 in 10). Least drought: Grafton County (1.5 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (16% of weeks), then Oct (15%) and Dec (12%). Least in May (0%). May to September averages 7%.

8 Jan
7 Feb
8 Mar
2 Apr
0 May
4 Jun
6 Jul
11 Aug
16 Sep
15 Oct
12 Nov
12 Dec

The worst year: 2001

2001: 21 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 8.3% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 2.7% at D2, 0.4% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 35 weeks, Aug 19, 2025 to Apr 14, 2026.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 20 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 1.3 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 20 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.