Drought in Delaware County, IA: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

Delaware County, IA: 9 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (14 wk), 2003 (32 wk), 2005 (16 wk), 2012 (27 wk), 2021 (18 wk), 2022 (13 wk), 2023 (29 wk), 2024 (34 wk) and 2025 (22 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Keep a lawn, but switch to drought-tolerant grass

Dry years come often enough to kill a thirsty lawn every few summers. Keep the lawn, reseed with a drought-tolerant mix, and put the beds on drip.

If you reseed, use a drought-tolerant mix and do it well clear of Feb, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (5 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (2.5 in 10).

Against the rest of IA

74th most drought-prone of 99 IA counties; the IA middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Black Hawk County (3.5 in 10) and Dubuque County (3.5 in 10). Driest in IA: Wapello County (5.4 in 10). Least drought: Howard County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Feb (25% of weeks), then Nov (21%) and Dec (21%). Least in May (3%). May to September averages 11%.

20 Jan
25 Feb
19 Mar
16 Apr
3 May
7 Jun
13 Jul
15 Aug
16 Sep
20 Oct
21 Nov
21 Dec

The worst year: 2024

2024: 34 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 16.3% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 5.1% at D2, 1.4% at D3, 2 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 50 weeks, Jun 13, 2023 to May 21, 2024.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 22 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 2.5 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 1 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.