Drought in Fergus County, MT: 4.6 years in 10 since 2000

4.6 years in 10

Fergus County, MT: 12 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (32 wk), 2001 (52 wk), 2002 (53 wk), 2003 (52 wk), 2004 (52 wk), 2005 (31 wk), 2006 (13 wk), 2008 (22 wk), 2017 (27 wk), 2021 (40 wk), 2022 (52 wk) and 2023 (18 wk). Not a single drought week in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 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 Sep peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of MT

49th most drought-prone of 56 MT counties; the MT middle is 5.4 in 10. Closest on the list: Daniels County (5 in 10) and Petroleum County (4.6 in 10). Driest in MT: Glacier County (6.9 in 10). Least drought: Garfield County (3.8 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (46% of weeks), then Oct (44%) and Aug (43%). Least in Dec (30%). May to September averages 40%.

31 Jan
33 Feb
35 Mar
37 Apr
35 May
38 Jun
37 Jul
43 Aug
46 Sep
44 Oct
34 Nov
30 Dec

The worst year: 2002

2002: 53 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 36.8% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 23.9% at D2, 10.4% at D3, 51 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 272 weeks, May 23, 2000 to Aug 2, 2005.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 18 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 5 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 37 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.