Drought in Kent County, DE: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000

1.9 years in 10

Kent County, DE: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (44 wk), 2007 (14 wk), 2012 (30 wk), 2024 (15 wk) and 2025 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

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 DE

2nd most drought-prone of 3 DE counties; the DE middle is 1.9 in 10. Closest on the list: Sussex County (2.3 in 10) and New Castle County (1.2 in 10). Driest in DE: Sussex County (2.3 in 10). Least drought: New Castle County (1.2 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (18% of weeks), then Sep (16%) and Aug (14%). Least in Nov (7%). May to September averages 14%.

9 Jan
8 Feb
8 Mar
10 Apr
13 May
12 Jun
14 Jul
14 Aug
16 Sep
18 Oct
7 Nov
8 Dec

The worst year: 2002

2002: 44 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 11.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 6.7% at D2, 1.9% at D3, 2 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 53 weeks, Oct 30, 2001 to Oct 29, 2002.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 1.9 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 22 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.