Drought in Grand Forks County, ND: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000
1.9 years in 10
Grand Forks County, ND: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.
- 5
- 0
- 4
- 10
- 0
- 0
- 10
- 0
- 3
- 0
- 0
- 2
- 40
- 25
- 0
- 8
- 0
- 1
- 0
- 0
- 5
- 45
- 14
- 26
- 0
- 0
20002025
Drought years: 2012 (40 wk), 2013 (25 wk), 2021 (45 wk), 2022 (14 wk) and 2023 (26 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2024 and 2025.
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.
Against the rest of ND
51st most drought-prone of 53 ND counties; the ND middle is 3.5 in 10. Closest on the list: Ransom County (2.3 in 10) and Steele County (1.9 in 10). Driest in ND: Bowman County (6.5 in 10). Least drought: Barnes County (1.2 in 10).
When in the year it hits
Most often in Sep (23% of weeks), then Aug (19%) and Apr (19%). Least in Jun (10%). May to September averages 14%.
- 16 Jan
- 17 Feb
- 17 Mar
- 19 Apr
- 10 May
- 10 Jun
- 10 Jul
- 19 Aug
- 23 Sep
- 14 Oct
- 10 Nov
- 13 Dec
The worst year: 2021
2021: 45 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 14.9% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 5.1% at D2, 0.6% at D3, 3 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 52 weeks, May 22, 2012 to May 14, 2013.
Lately
Last drought year: 2023, 26 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 1.3 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 10 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.
Further reading
Grand Forks County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2021, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Grand Forks County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.