Drought in Jefferson County, IL: 0.8 years in 10 since 2000

0.8 years in 10

Jefferson County, IL: 2 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

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

20002025

Drought years: 2012 (15 wk) and 2023 (16 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021.

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 Sep turns dry.

Against the rest of IL

94th most drought-prone of 102 IL counties; the IL middle is 2.3 in 10. Closest on the list: Franklin County (0.8 in 10) and Richland County (0.8 in 10). Driest in IL: Hancock County (3.8 in 10). Least drought: Edwards County (0.4 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (16% of weeks), then Jul (12%) and Oct (12%). Least in Apr (2%). May to September averages 10%.

1. 7 Jan
2. 6 Feb
3. 3 Mar
4. 2 Apr
5. 6 May
6. 6 Jun
7. 12 Jul
8. 10 Aug
9. 16 Sep
10. 12 Oct
11. 10 Nov
12. 8 Dec

The worst year: 2023

2023: 16 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 8.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 2.6% at D2, 0.4% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 15 weeks, Jun 19, 2012 to Sep 25, 2012.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 16 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 14 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Jefferson County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2023, was one of the worst nationally too; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Jefferson County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.