Drought in Elk County, PA: 0.8 years in 10 since 2000

0.8 years in 10

Elk County, PA: 2 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

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

20002025

Drought years: 2016 (13 wk) and 2025 (14 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2024.

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 Aug turns dry.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (2 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (0 in 10).

Against the rest of PA

34th most drought-prone of 67 PA counties; the PA middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Blair County (0.8 in 10) and Forest County (0.8 in 10). Driest in PA: Adams County (1.9 in 10). Least drought: Susquehanna County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Aug (15% of weeks), then Sep (11%) and Oct (9%). Least in Apr (0%). May to September averages 8%.

1. 1 Jan
2. 0 Feb
3. 0 Mar
4. 0 Apr
5. 2 May
6. 4 Jun
7. 7 Jul
8. 15 Aug
9. 11 Sep
10. 9 Oct
11. 4 Nov
12. 3 Dec

The worst year: 2025

2025: 14 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 4.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 13 weeks, Jul 26, 2016 to Oct 18, 2016.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 14 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 0 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 1 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Elk 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 Elk County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.