Drought in Johnson County, MO: 3.1 years in 10 since 2000

3.1 years in 10

Johnson County, MO: 8 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

1. 7
2. 0
3. 17
4. 26
5. 0
6. 4
7. 47
8. 5
9. 0
10. 0
11. 0
12. 8
13. 28
14. 11
15. 0
16. 4
17. 3
18. 8
19. 15
20. 0
21. 0
22. 0
23. 12
24. 35
25. 21
26. 20

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (17 wk), 2003 (26 wk), 2006 (47 wk), 2012 (28 wk), 2018 (15 wk), 2023 (35 wk), 2024 (21 wk) and 2025 (20 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Keep a lawn, but switch to drought-tolerant grass

Dry years come often enough to kill a thirsty lawn every few summers. Keep the lawn, reseed with a drought-tolerant mix, and put the beds on drip.

If you reseed, use a drought-tolerant mix and do it well clear of Nov, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of MO

57th most drought-prone of 115 MO counties; the MO middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Saint Clair County (3.1 in 10) and Ripley County (3.1 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 Nov (30% of weeks), then Oct (30%) and Sep (25%). Least in Jun (11%). May to September averages 19%.

1. 18 Jan
2. 12 Feb
3. 12 Mar
4. 14 Apr
5. 13 May
6. 11 Jun
7. 20 Jul
8. 24 Aug
9. 25 Sep
10. 30 Oct
11. 30 Nov
12. 24 Dec

The worst year: 2006

2006: 47 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 19.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 9.3% at D2, 2.3% at D3, 6 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 49 weeks, Feb 14, 2006 to Jan 16, 2007.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 20 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 2.5 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 2 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Johnson County lands on the plan covered in changing to a drought-tolerant grass. Its worst year, 2006, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Johnson County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.