Drought in Edmunds County, SD: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

Edmunds County, SD: 10 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2003 (33 wk), 2004 (22 wk), 2006 (16 wk), 2012 (30 wk), 2013 (20 wk), 2017 (24 wk), 2018 (24 wk), 2020 (15 wk), 2021 (41 wk) and 2025 (16 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2019 and 2023.

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

Against the rest of SD

36th most drought-prone of 66 SD counties; the SD middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Miner County (3.8 in 10) and Deuel County (3.8 in 10). Driest in SD: Jackson County (6.9 in 10). Least drought: Clark County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Feb (26% of weeks), then Mar (24%) and Nov (23%). Least in May (13%). May to September averages 17%.

19 Jan
26 Feb
24 Mar
22 Apr
13 May
17 Jun
17 Jul
19 Aug
22 Sep
21 Oct
23 Nov
22 Dec

The worst year: 2021

2021: 41 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 20.2% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 9.4% at D2, 1.1% at D3, 4 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 56 weeks, Sep 22, 2020 to Oct 12, 2021.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 16 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.