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

3.5 years in 10

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

1. 8
2. 0
3. 9
4. 16
5. 6
6. 0
7. 7
8. 3
9. 0
10. 0
11. 0
12. 35
13. 43
14. 30
15. 31
16. 7
17. 0
18. 8
19. 34
20. 0
21. 1
22. 4
23. 38
24. 52
25. 23
26. 12

20002025

Drought years: 2003 (16 wk), 2011 (35 wk), 2012 (43 wk), 2013 (30 wk), 2014 (31 wk), 2018 (34 wk), 2022 (38 wk), 2023 (52 wk) and 2024 (23 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016 and 2019.

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

This is one step drier than the yearly count alone suggests, because 31% of growing-season weeks here were in drought.

Against the rest of KS

81st most drought-prone of 105 KS counties; the KS middle is 4.2 in 10. Closest on the list: Montgomery County (3.5 in 10) and Elk 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 May (38% of weeks), then Apr (33%) and Aug (33%). Least in Nov (18%). May to September averages 31%.

1. 25 Jan
2. 26 Feb
3. 27 Mar
4. 33 Apr
5. 38 May
6. 25 Jun
7. 26 Jul
8. 33 Aug
9. 31 Sep
10. 26 Oct
11. 18 Nov
12. 19 Dec

The worst year: 2023

2023: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 27.2% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 13% at D2, 4.9% at D3, 27 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 75 weeks, Aug 30, 2022 to Jan 30, 2024.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 23 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 14 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Ellsworth County lands on the plan covered in shrinking the lawn. Its worst year, 2023, was one of the worst nationally too; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Ellsworth County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.