Drought in Livingston County, NY: 1.2 years in 10 since 2000

1.2 years in 10

Livingston County, NY: 3 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2016 (24 wk), 2023 (13 wk) and 2025 (14 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 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 Aug turns dry.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (3 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (0 in 10).

Against the rest of NY

20th most drought-prone of 62 NY counties; the NY middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Suffolk County (1.2 in 10) and Franklin County (1.2 in 10). Driest in NY: Rockland County (2.3 in 10). Least drought: Otsego County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Aug (19% of weeks), then Sep (15%) and Nov (12%). Least in Jun (0%). May to September averages 9%.

7 Jan
4 Feb
1 Mar
3 Apr
2 May
0 Jun
8 Jul
19 Aug
15 Sep
11 Oct
12 Nov
10 Dec

The worst year: 2016

2016: 24 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 7.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 1.9% at D2, 0.3% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 24 weeks, Jul 5, 2016 to Dec 13, 2016.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 14 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 0 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 9 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.