Drought in Herkimer County, NY: 0.4 years in 10 since 2000

0.4 years in 10

Herkimer County, NY: 1 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

1. 0
2. 2
3. 3
4. 0
5. 0
6. 0
7. 0
8. 1
9. 0
10. 0
11. 0
12. 0
13. 0
14. 0
15. 0
16. 0
17. 5
18. 0
19. 0
20. 0
21. 13
22. 0
23. 0
24. 0
25. 0
26. 10

20002025

Drought years: 2020 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 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 Nov turns dry.

Against the rest of NY

48th most drought-prone of 62 NY counties; the NY middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Cortland County (0.4 in 10) and Tioga County (0.4 in 10). Driest in NY: Rockland County (2.3 in 10). Least drought: Otsego County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (10% of weeks), then Dec (8%) and Oct (6%). Least in Aug (0%). May to September averages 1%.

1. 1 Jan
2. 0 Feb
3. 0 Mar
4. 0 Apr
5. 2 May
6. 0 Jun
7. 0 Jul
8. 0 Aug
9. 4 Sep
10. 6 Oct
11. 10 Nov
12. 8 Dec

The worst year: 2020

2020: 13 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 2.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 13 weeks, Sep 29, 2020 to Dec 22, 2020.

Lately

Last drought year: 2020, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 0 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 1 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Herkimer County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2020, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Herkimer County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.