Drought in Grant County, WI: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000
1.9 years in 10
Grant County, WI: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.
- 9
- 0
- 0
- 31
- 0
- 7
- 2
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 26
- 13
- 0
- 3
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 17
- 10
- 30
- 8
- 8
20002025
Drought years: 2003 (31 wk), 2012 (26 wk), 2013 (13 wk), 2021 (17 wk) and 2023 (30 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
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.
Against the rest of WI
54th most drought-prone of 72 WI counties; the WI middle is 2.7 in 10. Closest on the list: Marathon County (1.9 in 10) and Ozaukee County (1.9 in 10). Driest in WI: Barron County (4.6 in 10). Least drought: Fond du Lac County (0.8 in 10).
When in the year it hits
Most often in Aug (19% of weeks), then Mar (16%) and Oct (16%). Least in May (4%). May to September averages 12%.
- 10 Jan
- 11 Feb
- 16 Mar
- 9 Apr
- 4 May
- 9 Jun
- 13 Jul
- 19 Aug
- 14 Sep
- 16 Oct
- 13 Nov
- 8 Dec
The worst year: 2003
2003: 31 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 11.7% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 3.6% at D2, 0.9% at D3, 1 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 37 weeks, Jul 3, 2012 to Mar 12, 2013.
Lately
Last drought year: 2023, 30 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 1.9 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.
Further reading
Grant County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2003, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Grant County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.