Drought in Leavenworth County, KS: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

Leavenworth County, KS: 10 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (16 wk), 2002 (19 wk), 2003 (42 wk), 2012 (28 wk), 2013 (24 wk), 2018 (25 wk), 2022 (15 wk), 2023 (18 wk), 2024 (15 wk) and 2025 (21 wk). Not a single drought week in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016 and 2019.

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

Against the rest of KS

74th most drought-prone of 105 KS counties; the KS middle is 4.2 in 10. Closest on the list: Bourbon County (3.8 in 10) and Miami County (3.8 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 Nov (31% of weeks), then Dec (31%) and Oct (30%). Least in Jun (10%). May to September averages 15%.

23 Jan
17 Feb
11 Mar
14 Apr
13 May
10 Jun
16 Jul
14 Aug
24 Sep
30 Oct
31 Nov
31 Dec

The worst year: 2003

2003: 42 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 19.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 7.4% at D2, 2.1% at D3, 11 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 49 weeks, Jun 19, 2012 to May 21, 2013.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 21 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 1 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.