Drought in Marshall County, KS: 4.6 years in 10 since 2000

4.6 years in 10

Marshall County, KS: 12 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (35 wk), 2002 (25 wk), 2003 (46 wk), 2012 (28 wk), 2013 (18 wk), 2014 (23 wk), 2018 (25 wk), 2021 (13 wk), 2022 (28 wk), 2023 (30 wk), 2024 (25 wk) and 2025 (30 wk). Not a single drought week in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 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 Jan peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (6 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (3.8 in 10).

Against the rest of KS

47th most drought-prone of 105 KS counties; the KS middle is 4.2 in 10. Closest on the list: Kingman County (4.6 in 10) and Lincoln County (4.6 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 Jan (33% of weeks), then Dec (31%) and Nov (30%). Least in May (19%). May to September averages 23%.

33 Jan
28 Feb
22 Mar
24 Apr
19 May
20 Jun
25 Jul
27 Aug
26 Sep
29 Oct
30 Nov
31 Dec

The worst year: 2003

2003: 46 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 26.2% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 7.2% at D2, 0.8% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 43 weeks, Jul 10, 2012 to Apr 30, 2013.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 30 weeks. 2016-2025: 6 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.