Drought in Lincoln County, MT: 5 years in 10 since 2000

5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (48 wk), 2002 (18 wk), 2003 (31 wk), 2004 (19 wk), 2005 (35 wk), 2007 (25 wk), 2015 (29 wk), 2017 (18 wk), 2018 (25 wk), 2019 (17 wk), 2021 (35 wk), 2023 (48 wk) and 2025 (27 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

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

Against the rest of MT

46th most drought-prone of 56 MT counties; the MT middle is 5.4 in 10. Closest on the list: Sanders County (5 in 10) and Sheridan County (5 in 10). Driest in MT: Glacier County (6.9 in 10). Least drought: Garfield County (3.8 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (45% of weeks), then Sep (44%) and Jul (43%). Least in Apr (17%). May to September averages 35%.

21 Jan
26 Feb
19 Mar
17 Apr
23 May
28 Jun
43 Jul
40 Aug
44 Sep
45 Oct
38 Nov
35 Dec

The worst year: 2001

2001: 48 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 31.3% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 15% at D2, 5.5% at D3, 5 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 58 weeks, Jan 31, 2023 to Mar 5, 2024.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 27 weeks. 2016-2025: 6 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 2 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.