Drought in Douglas County, KS: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (17 wk), 2003 (36 wk), 2011 (25 wk), 2012 (28 wk), 2013 (25 wk), 2018 (34 wk), 2022 (14 wk), 2023 (21 wk) and 2025 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016 and 2019.

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 Oct, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of KS

89th most drought-prone of 105 KS counties; the KS middle is 4.2 in 10. Closest on the list: Pottawatomie County (3.5 in 10) and Lyon County (3.5 in 10). Driest in KS: Morton County (6.9 in 10). Least drought: Dickinson County (2.7 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (32% of weeks), then Nov (30%) and Sep (26%). Least in Jun (10%). May to September averages 17%.

18 Jan
16 Feb
14 Mar
16 Apr
13 May
10 Jun
16 Jul
18 Aug
26 Sep
32 Oct
30 Nov
25 Dec

The worst year: 2003

2003: 36 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 19.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 5.3% at D2, 2.8% at D3, 12 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 50 weeks, Jun 19, 2012 to May 28, 2013.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 1 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.