Drought in Hillsdale County, MI: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

Hillsdale County, MI: 9 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (20 wk), 2002 (20 wk), 2003 (17 wk), 2005 (13 wk), 2012 (19 wk), 2021 (14 wk), 2023 (15 wk), 2024 (14 wk) and 2025 (23 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Keep a lawn, but switch to drought-tolerant grass

Dry years come often enough to kill a thirsty lawn every few summers. Keep the lawn, reseed with a drought-tolerant mix, and put the beds on drip.

If you reseed, use a drought-tolerant mix and do it well clear of Dec, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of MI

2nd most drought-prone of 83 MI counties; the MI middle is 1.5 in 10. Closest on the list: Gogebic County (3.5 in 10) and Branch County (3.1 in 10). Driest in MI: Gogebic County (3.5 in 10). Least drought: Newaygo County (0.8 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Dec (25% of weeks), then Nov (25%) and Jan (18%). Least in Aug (7%). May to September averages 9%.

18 Jan
15 Feb
10 Mar
12 Apr
7 May
11 Jun
13 Jul
7 Aug
7 Sep
12 Oct
25 Nov
25 Dec

The worst year: 2025

2025: 23 weeks in drought, peaking at D1 moderate. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 13.4% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 1.3% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 31 weeks, Oct 1, 2002 to Apr 29, 2003.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 23 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.