Drought in Cumberland County, IL: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000
1.9 years in 10
Cumberland County, IL: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.
- 21
- 4
- 1
- 0
- 0
- 8
- 0
- 9
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 7
- 15
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 3
- 0
- 7
- 15
- 13
- 22
20002025
Drought years: 2000 (21 wk), 2012 (15 wk), 2023 (15 wk), 2024 (13 wk) and 2025 (22 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021.
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 IL
61st most drought-prone of 102 IL counties; the IL middle is 2.3 in 10. Closest on the list: Ford County (1.9 in 10) and Macoupin County (1.9 in 10). Driest in IL: Hancock County (3.8 in 10). Least drought: Edwards County (0.4 in 10).
When in the year it hits
Most often in Dec (15% of weeks), then Sep (13%) and Oct (13%). Least in Apr (4%). May to September averages 9%.
- 11 Jan
- 9 Feb
- 8 Mar
- 4 Apr
- 8 May
- 7 Jun
- 10 Jul
- 8 Aug
- 13 Sep
- 13 Oct
- 13 Nov
- 15 Dec
The worst year: 2025
2025: 22 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 9.9% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 1.2% at D2, 0.4% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 26 weeks, Sep 16, 2025 to Mar 10, 2026.
Lately
Last drought year: 2025, 22 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 1.3 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 13 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.
Further reading
Cumberland County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2025, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Cumberland County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.