Drought in Henry County, IA: 4.6 years in 10 since 2000

4.6 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (24 wk), 2003 (29 wk), 2005 (25 wk), 2006 (35 wk), 2011 (14 wk), 2012 (25 wk), 2013 (29 wk), 2017 (20 wk), 2018 (18 wk), 2022 (21 wk), 2023 (37 wk) and 2024 (14 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2021.

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

Against the rest of IA

11th most drought-prone of 99 IA counties; the IA middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Fremont County (4.6 in 10) and Mahaska County (4.6 in 10). Driest in IA: Wapello County (5.4 in 10). Least drought: Howard County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Jan (33% of weeks), then Aug (33%) and Oct (33%). Least in May (5%). May to September averages 20%.

33 Jan
31 Feb
23 Mar
10 Apr
5 May
10 Jun
18 Jul
33 Aug
32 Sep
33 Oct
31 Nov
31 Dec

The worst year: 2023

2023: 37 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 24.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 9.6% at D2, 2.2% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 43 weeks, Jun 13, 2023 to Apr 2, 2024.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 14 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 7 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.