Drought in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK: 0 years in 10 since 2000

0 years in 10

Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK: 0 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. No full-season drought since 2000.

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

20002025

No year reached the drought line. Not a single drought week in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

A regular lawn is fine here

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.

Against the rest of AK

14th most drought-prone of 30 AK counties; the AK middle is 0 in 10. Closest on the list: Hoonah-Angoon Census Area (0 in 10) and Skagway Municipality (0 in 10). Driest in AK: Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area (0.8 in 10). Least drought: Northwest Arctic Borough (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Aug (7% of weeks), then Jul (3%) and Sep (1%). Least in Dec (0%). May to September averages 2%.

1. 0 Jan
2. 0 Feb
3. 0 Mar
4. 0 Apr
5. 0 May
6. 0 Jun
7. 3 Jul
8. 7 Aug
9. 1 Sep
10. 0 Oct
11. 0 Nov
12. 0 Dec

The worst year: 2015

2015: 9 weeks in drought, peaking at D1 moderate. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 0.9% of all weeks at D1 or worse, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 9 weeks, Jul 7, 2015 to Sep 1, 2015.

Lately

No drought year on record. 2016-2025: 0 in 10, against 0 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Matanuska-Susitna Borough 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 Matanuska-Susitna Borough's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.