Drought in Jefferson County, OR: 5.4 years in 10 since 2000

5.4 years in 10

Jefferson County, OR: 14 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (46 wk), 2002 (25 wk), 2003 (29 wk), 2005 (48 wk), 2014 (52 wk), 2015 (52 wk), 2018 (50 wk), 2019 (14 wk), 2020 (50 wk), 2021 (52 wk), 2022 (52 wk), 2023 (52 wk), 2024 (34 wk) and 2025 (15 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

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

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (8 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (3.8 in 10).

Against the rest of OR

10th most drought-prone of 36 OR counties; the OR middle is 4.4 in 10. Closest on the list: Wheeler County (5.4 in 10) and Union County (5.4 in 10). Driest in OR: Lake County (7.7 in 10). Least drought: Clatsop County (2.7 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (56% of weeks), then Aug (50%) and Oct (49%). Least in Jan (34%). May to September averages 45%.

34 Jan
47 Feb
45 Mar
37 Apr
38 May
38 Jun
44 Jul
50 Aug
56 Sep
49 Oct
46 Nov
46 Dec

The worst year: 2021

2021: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 44.2% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 25.8% at D2, 10% at D3, 57 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 215 weeks, Jan 21, 2020 to Feb 27, 2024.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 15 weeks. 2016-2025: 8 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 35 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.