Drought in Massac County, IL: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000
1.9 years in 10
Massac County, IL: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.
- 0
- 14
- 6
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 14
- 0
- 0
- 17
- 0
- 34
- 2
- 0
- 0
- 7
- 0
- 0
- 3
- 0
- 0
- 18
- 6
- 12
- 7
20002025
Drought years: 2001 (14 wk), 2007 (14 wk), 2010 (17 wk), 2012 (34 wk) and 2022 (18 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 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 Sep turns dry.
Against the rest of IL
59th most drought-prone of 102 IL counties; the IL middle is 2.3 in 10. Closest on the list: Randolph County (1.9 in 10) and Ford County (1.9 in 10). Driest in IL: Hancock County (3.8 in 10). Least drought: Edwards County (0.4 in 10).
When in the year it hits
Most often in Sep (22% of weeks), then Oct (19%) and Nov (16%). Least in Mar (1%). May to September averages 14%.
- 4 Jan
- 1 Feb
- 1 Mar
- 8 Apr
- 12 May
- 10 Jun
- 13 Jul
- 13 Aug
- 22 Sep
- 19 Oct
- 16 Nov
- 9 Dec
The worst year: 2012
2012: 34 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 10.7% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 4.3% at D2, 1.9% at D3, 8 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 36 weeks, May 8, 2012 to Jan 8, 2013.
Lately
Last drought year: 2022, 18 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 2.5 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 10 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.
Further reading
Massac County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2012, was one of the worst nationally too; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Massac County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.