Drought in Lancaster County, PA: 1.5 years in 10 since 2000

1.5 years in 10

Lancaster County, PA: 4 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (44 wk), 2017 (13 wk), 2024 (13 wk) and 2025 (21 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

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 Apr turns dry.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (3 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (0.6 in 10).

Against the rest of PA

3rd most drought-prone of 67 PA counties; the PA middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Philadelphia County (1.5 in 10) and Lebanon County (1.5 in 10). Driest in PA: Adams County (1.9 in 10). Least drought: Susquehanna County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Apr (16% of weeks), then May (15%) and Mar (14%). Least in Sep (3%). May to September averages 8%.

12 Jan
14 Feb
14 Mar
16 Apr
15 May
10 Jun
9 Jul
4 Aug
3 Sep
8 Oct
11 Nov
11 Dec

The worst year: 2002

2002: 44 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 10.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 4.6% at D2, 0.9% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 32 weeks, Oct 30, 2001 to Jun 4, 2002.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 21 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 26 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.