Drought in Dutchess County, NY: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000
1.9 years in 10
Dutchess County, NY: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.
- 0
- 8
- 20
- 0
- 0
- 1
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 7
- 1
- 0
- 5
- 23
- 14
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 20
- 0
- 9
- 13
20002025
Drought years: 2002 (20 wk), 2016 (23 wk), 2017 (14 wk), 2022 (20 wk) and 2025 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023.
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 Nov turns dry.
Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (4 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (0.6 in 10).
Against the rest of NY
6th most drought-prone of 62 NY counties; the NY middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Orange County (1.9 in 10) and Orleans County (1.9 in 10). Driest in NY: Rockland County (2.3 in 10). Least drought: Otsego County (0 in 10).
When in the year it hits
Most often in Nov (14% of weeks), then Dec (13%) and Jan (12%). Least in Jul (4%). May to September averages 7%.
- 12 Jan
- 11 Feb
- 10 Mar
- 10 Apr
- 8 May
- 5 Jun
- 4 Jul
- 8 Aug
- 8 Sep
- 8 Oct
- 14 Nov
- 13 Dec
The worst year: 2016
2016: 23 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 9.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 3.4% at D2, 0.1% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 37 weeks, Jul 26, 2016 to Apr 4, 2017.
Lately
Last drought year: 2025, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 7 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.
Further reading
Dutchess County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its last ten years ran drier than the ten before; what that does and does not mean. How each of Dutchess County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.