Drought in Josephine County, OR: 3.1 years in 10 since 2000

3.1 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (43 wk), 2013 (18 wk), 2014 (52 wk), 2015 (52 wk), 2018 (22 wk), 2020 (44 wk), 2021 (52 wk) and 2022 (44 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2017.

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.

This is one step drier than the yearly count alone suggests, because 33% of growing-season weeks here were in drought.

Against the rest of OR

32nd most drought-prone of 36 OR counties; the OR middle is 4.4 in 10. Closest on the list: Yamhill County (3.5 in 10) and Washington County (3.1 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 (41% of weeks), then Aug (37%) and Jul (33%). Least in Jan (19%). May to September averages 33%.

19 Jan
20 Feb
24 Mar
25 Apr
25 May
30 Jun
33 Jul
37 Aug
41 Sep
33 Oct
28 Nov
24 Dec

The worst year: 2014

2014: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 28.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 17.3% at D2, 4.5% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 140 weeks, Mar 3, 2020 to Nov 1, 2022.

Lately

Last drought year: 2022, 44 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 2.5 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 31 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.