Drought in Kiowa County, OK: 6.5 years in 10 since 2000

6.5 years in 10

Kiowa County, OK: 17 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (24 wk), 2003 (14 wk), 2006 (41 wk), 2009 (16 wk), 2011 (50 wk), 2012 (40 wk), 2013 (53 wk), 2014 (52 wk), 2015 (27 wk), 2018 (39 wk), 2019 (21 wk), 2020 (16 wk), 2021 (31 wk), 2022 (52 wk), 2023 (52 wk), 2024 (24 wk) and 2025 (19 wk). Not a single drought week in 2007, 2008 and 2016.

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 Dec 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 (5.6 in 10).

Against the rest of OK

6th most drought-prone of 77 OK counties; the OK middle is 4.6 in 10. Closest on the list: Greer County (6.5 in 10) and Texas County (6.5 in 10). Driest in OK: Cimarron County (6.9 in 10). Least drought: McIntosh County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Dec (51% of weeks), then Jan (50%) and Sep (50%). Least in Jun (40%). May to September averages 44%.

50 Jan
43 Feb
48 Mar
43 Apr
40 May
40 Jun
43 Jul
46 Aug
50 Sep
50 Oct
50 Nov
51 Dec

The worst year: 2013

2013: 53 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 46.2% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 32.1% at D2, 19.4% at D3, 176 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 152 weeks, Jun 26, 2012 to May 19, 2015.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 19 weeks. 2016-2025: 8 in 10, against 5.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 44 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.