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

3.5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (16 wk), 2003 (24 wk), 2004 (21 wk), 2007 (18 wk), 2012 (30 wk), 2013 (18 wk), 2021 (19 wk), 2022 (13 wk) and 2023 (26 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2025.

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 MN

72nd most drought-prone of 87 MN counties; the MN middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Kanabec County (3.5 in 10) and Fillmore County (3.5 in 10). Driest in MN: Wadena County (5 in 10). Least drought: Pennington County (1.9 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (30% of weeks), then Sep (24%) and Aug (20%). Least in Jun (8%). May to September averages 14%.

13 Jan
17 Feb
19 Mar
18 Apr
9 May
8 Jun
11 Jul
20 Aug
24 Sep
30 Oct
17 Nov
11 Dec

The worst year: 2012

2012: 30 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 16.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 3.7% at D2, 0.4% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 40 weeks, Aug 26, 2003 to May 25, 2004.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 26 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 12 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.