Drought in Jewell County, KS: 4.2 years in 10 since 2000

4.2 years in 10

Jewell County, KS: 11 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (31 wk), 2002 (32 wk), 2003 (45 wk), 2012 (30 wk), 2013 (31 wk), 2014 (28 wk), 2018 (15 wk), 2022 (30 wk), 2023 (52 wk), 2024 (41 wk) and 2025 (23 wk). Not a single drought week in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016 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 KS

56th most drought-prone of 105 KS counties; the KS middle is 4.2 in 10. Closest on the list: Harvey County (4.2 in 10) and Sedgwick County (4.2 in 10). Driest in KS: Morton County (6.9 in 10). Least drought: Dickinson County (2.7 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Feb (37% of weeks), then Mar (34%) and Apr (34%). Least in Sep (22%). May to September averages 27%.

31 Jan
37 Feb
34 Mar
34 Apr
30 May
32 Jun
27 Jul
23 Aug
22 Sep
25 Oct
27 Nov
24 Dec

The worst year: 2023

2023: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 28.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 12.1% at D2, 1.4% at D3, 27 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, 23 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 2 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.