Drought in Jefferson County, NY: 0.4 years in 10 since 2000

0.4 years in 10

Jefferson County, NY: 1 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

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

20002025

Drought years: 2016 (15 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

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.

Against the rest of NY

45th most drought-prone of 62 NY counties; the NY middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Hamilton County (0.4 in 10) and Sullivan County (0.4 in 10). Driest in NY: Rockland County (2.3 in 10). Least drought: Otsego County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (11% of weeks), then Sep (10%) and Aug (9%). Least in Dec (0%). May to September averages 6%.

1. 0 Jan
2. 0 Feb
3. 0 Mar
4. 1 Apr
5. 3 May
6. 4 Jun
7. 4 Jul
8. 9 Aug
9. 10 Sep
10. 11 Oct
11. 3 Nov
12. 0 Dec

The worst year: 2016

2016: 15 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 3.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 0.4% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 15 weeks, Aug 9, 2016 to Nov 15, 2016.

Lately

Last drought year: 2016, 15 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 0 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 0 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, 2016, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Jefferson County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.