Drought in Lane County, KS: 5.4 years in 10 since 2000

5.4 years in 10

Lane County, KS: 14 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

1. 11
2. 0
3. 42
4. 43
5. 29
6. 0
7. 41
8. 0
9. 2
10. 0
11. 8
12. 52
13. 45
14. 53
15. 35
16. 2
17. 8
18. 13
19. 24
20. 11
21. 19
22. 12
23. 52
24. 50
25. 14
26. 2

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (42 wk), 2003 (43 wk), 2004 (29 wk), 2006 (41 wk), 2011 (52 wk), 2012 (45 wk), 2013 (53 wk), 2014 (35 wk), 2017 (13 wk), 2018 (24 wk), 2020 (19 wk), 2022 (52 wk), 2023 (50 wk) and 2024 (14 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2009.

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 May peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of KS

28th most drought-prone of 105 KS counties; the KS middle is 4.2 in 10. Closest on the list: Seward County (5.4 in 10) and Meade County (5.4 in 10). Driest in KS: Morton County (6.9 in 10). Least drought: Dickinson County (2.7 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in May (48% of weeks), then Apr (47%) and Feb (45%). Least in Sep (31%). May to September averages 39%.

1. 41 Jan
2. 45 Feb
3. 42 Mar
4. 47 Apr
5. 48 May
6. 44 Jun
7. 38 Jul
8. 35 Aug
9. 31 Sep
10. 40 Oct
11. 43 Nov
12. 44 Dec

The worst year: 2013

2013: 53 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 41.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 23.5% at D2, 9.4% at D3, 111 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 119 weeks, May 29, 2012 to Sep 2, 2014.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 14 weeks. 2016-2025: 6 in 10, against 5 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 13 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Lane County lands on the plan covered in shrinking the lawn. Its worst year, 2013, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Lane County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.