Drought in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000

1.9 years in 10

Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

1. 0
2. 7
3. 26
4. 0
5. 0
6. 2
7. 0
8. 12
9. 0
10. 0
11. 0
12. 0
13. 9
14. 3
15. 10
16. 33
17. 26
18. 18
19. 0
20. 0
21. 11
22. 0
23. 10
24. 1
25. 9
26. 13

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (26 wk), 2015 (33 wk), 2016 (26 wk), 2017 (18 wk) and 2025 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2018, 2019 and 2021.

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 Nov turns dry.

Against the rest of CT

5th most drought-prone of 9 CT counties; the CT middle is 1.9 in 10. Closest on the list: Northwest Hills Planning Region (2.3 in 10) and South Central Connecticut Planning Region (1.9 in 10). Driest in CT: Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region (2.7 in 10). Least drought: Western Connecticut Planning Region (1.9 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (21% of weeks), then Oct (20%) and Sep (19%). Least in Jun (8%). May to September averages 12%.

1. 14 Jan
2. 13 Feb
3. 13 Mar
4. 12 Apr
5. 11 May
6. 8 Jun
7. 8 Jul
8. 15 Aug
9. 19 Sep
10. 20 Oct
11. 21 Nov
12. 17 Dec

The worst year: 2015

2015: 33 weeks in drought, peaking at D1 moderate. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 14.3% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 4.6% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 40 weeks, Jul 26, 2016 to Apr 25, 2017.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 1.3 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 10 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2015, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.