Drought in Madison County, MO: 1.5 years in 10 since 2000

1.5 years in 10

Madison County, MO: 4 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2012 (30 wk), 2017 (19 wk), 2024 (20 wk) and 2025 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2002, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020 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 Dec turns dry.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (3 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (0.6 in 10).

Against the rest of MO

109th most drought-prone of 115 MO counties; the MO middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Jefferson County (1.5 in 10) and Bollinger County (1.5 in 10). Driest in MO: Jasper County (4.6 in 10). Least drought: Perry County (1.2 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Dec (18% of weeks), then Jun (17%) and Jan (16%). Least in Feb (7%). May to September averages 13%.

16 Jan
7 Feb
9 Mar
9 Apr
13 May
17 Jun
13 Jul
10 Aug
11 Sep
15 Oct
14 Nov
18 Dec

The worst year: 2012

2012: 30 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 12.9% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 3.9% at D2, 0.5% at D3, 6 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 32 weeks, Jun 5, 2012 to Jan 8, 2013.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 25 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.