Drought in Franklin County, VT: 0.8 years in 10 since 2000

0.8 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2018 (15 wk) and 2021 (18 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020, 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 Sep 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 VT

11th most drought-prone of 14 VT counties; the VT middle is 1.5499999999999998 in 10. Closest on the list: Addison County (1.2 in 10) and Bennington County (0.4 in 10). Driest in VT: Windsor County (2.7 in 10). Least drought: Chittenden County (0.4 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (11% of weeks), then Aug (11%) and Oct (11%). Least in Mar (0%). May to September averages 6%.

4 Jan
3 Feb
0 Mar
3 Apr
1 May
4 Jun
4 Jul
11 Aug
11 Sep
11 Oct
6 Nov
4 Dec

The worst year: 2021

2021: 18 weeks in drought, peaking at D1 moderate. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 5.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 0.6% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 15 weeks, Jul 31, 2018 to Nov 6, 2018.

Lately

Last drought year: 2021, 18 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 0 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.