Drought in Klamath County, OR: 6.2 years in 10 since 2000

6.2 years in 10

Klamath County, OR: 16 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (46 wk), 2002 (15 wk), 2003 (19 wk), 2005 (38 wk), 2010 (37 wk), 2013 (35 wk), 2014 (52 wk), 2015 (52 wk), 2016 (15 wk), 2018 (39 wk), 2019 (14 wk), 2020 (45 wk), 2021 (52 wk), 2022 (52 wk), 2023 (26 wk) and 2024 (19 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2017 and 2025.

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.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (8 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (5 in 10).

Against the rest of OR

5th most drought-prone of 36 OR counties; the OR middle is 4.4 in 10. Closest on the list: Baker County (6.5 in 10) and Wallowa County (5.8 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 (53% of weeks), then Oct (51%) and Aug (49%). Least in Jan (28%). May to September averages 47%.

28 Jan
35 Feb
48 Mar
39 Apr
42 May
46 Jun
43 Jul
49 Aug
53 Sep
51 Oct
41 Nov
36 Dec

The worst year: 2015

2015: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 42.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 26.1% at D2, 16.9% at D3, 63 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 175 weeks, Feb 25, 2020 to Jun 27, 2023.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 19 weeks. 2016-2025: 8 in 10, against 5 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 31 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.