Drought in Jasper County, MO: 4.6 years in 10 since 2000

4.6 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (13 wk), 2003 (13 wk), 2006 (45 wk), 2011 (18 wk), 2012 (26 wk), 2013 (16 wk), 2014 (18 wk), 2018 (14 wk), 2022 (26 wk), 2023 (21 wk), 2024 (21 wk) and 2025 (20 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2019 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 Oct peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of MO

1st most drought-prone of 115 MO counties; the MO middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Atchison County (4.6 in 10). Least drought: Perry County (1.2 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (39% of weeks), then Aug (36%) and Sep (31%). Least in Jun (5%). May to September averages 21%.

26 Jan
21 Feb
14 Mar
8 Apr
8 May
5 Jun
24 Jul
36 Aug
31 Sep
39 Oct
26 Nov
25 Dec

The worst year: 2006

2006: 45 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 22% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 9.2% at D2, 3.1% at D3, 7 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 42 weeks, Jul 3, 2012 to Apr 16, 2013.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 20 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 21 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.