Drought in Dewey County, OK: 6.2 years in 10 since 2000

6.2 years in 10

Dewey County, OK: 16 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

1. 7
2. 21
3. 21
4. 10
5. 2
6. 5
7. 49
8. 13
9. 0
10. 20
11. 1
12. 43
13. 36
14. 43
15. 52
16. 20
17. 5
18. 15
19. 33
20. 2
21. 31
22. 16
23. 52
24. 27
25. 5
26. 8

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (21 wk), 2002 (21 wk), 2006 (49 wk), 2007 (13 wk), 2009 (20 wk), 2011 (43 wk), 2012 (36 wk), 2013 (43 wk), 2014 (52 wk), 2015 (20 wk), 2017 (15 wk), 2018 (33 wk), 2020 (31 wk), 2021 (16 wk), 2022 (52 wk) and 2023 (27 wk). Not a single drought week in 2008.

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 Mar peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of OK

16th most drought-prone of 77 OK counties; the OK middle is 4.6 in 10. Closest on the list: Beaver County (6.2 in 10) and Comanche County (6.2 in 10). Driest in OK: Cimarron County (6.9 in 10). Least drought: McIntosh County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Mar (53% of weeks), then Feb (51%) and Jan (48%). Least in Nov (27%). May to September averages 41%.

1. 48 Jan
2. 51 Feb
3. 53 Mar
4. 45 Apr
5. 41 May
6. 39 Jun
7. 42 Jul
8. 42 Aug
9. 40 Sep
10. 33 Oct
11. 27 Nov
12. 38 Dec

The worst year: 2014

2014: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 41.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 29.2% at D2, 17.3% at D3, 115 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 84 weeks, Nov 30, 2021 to Jul 4, 2023.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 27 weeks. 2016-2025: 6 in 10, against 6.3 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 44 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Dewey County lands on the plan covered in shrinking the lawn. Its worst year, 2014, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Dewey County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.