Drought in Jefferson County, MO: 1.5 years in 10 since 2000

1.5 years in 10

Jefferson County, MO: 4 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2012 (29 wk), 2017 (30 wk), 2023 (19 wk) and 2024 (14 wk). Not a single drought week in 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020 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 Oct turns dry.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (3 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (0.6 in 10).

Against the rest of MO

108th most drought-prone of 115 MO counties; the MO middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Washington County (1.5 in 10) and Madison County (1.5 in 10). Driest in MO: Jasper County (4.6 in 10). Least drought: Perry County (1.2 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (24% of weeks), then Nov (18%) and Aug (18%). Least in Apr (5%). May to September averages 12%.

15 Jan
11 Feb
8 Mar
5 Apr
6 May
10 Jun
11 Jul
18 Aug
16 Sep
24 Oct
18 Nov
13 Dec

The worst year: 2017

2017: 30 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 12.9% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 2.9% at D2, 0.6% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 34 weeks, Jun 12, 2012 to Jan 29, 2013.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 14 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 8 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.