Drought in Jefferson County, NE: 4.6 years in 10 since 2000

4.6 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (46 wk), 2002 (27 wk), 2003 (38 wk), 2005 (13 wk), 2006 (15 wk), 2012 (28 wk), 2013 (22 wk), 2021 (27 wk), 2022 (26 wk), 2023 (52 wk), 2024 (39 wk) and 2025 (24 wk). Not a single drought week in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2017 and 2019.

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 Feb peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of NE

62nd most drought-prone of 93 NE counties; the NE middle is 5 in 10. Closest on the list: Thayer County (4.6 in 10) and Gage County (4.6 in 10). Driest in NE: Banner County (6.5 in 10). Least drought: Cuming County (2.7 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Feb (41% of weeks), then Jan (36%) and Mar (34%). Least in Jun (18%). May to September averages 22%.

36 Jan
41 Feb
34 Mar
33 Apr
22 May
18 Jun
23 Jul
25 Aug
22 Sep
26 Oct
31 Nov
31 Dec

The worst year: 2023

2023: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 28.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 11.9% at D2, 3.4% at D3, 4 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 80 weeks, Oct 25, 2022 to Apr 30, 2024.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 24 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 2 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.