Drought in McLeod County, MN: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

McLeod County, MN: 10 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (21 wk), 2003 (21 wk), 2004 (20 wk), 2011 (13 wk), 2012 (32 wk), 2013 (39 wk), 2014 (16 wk), 2021 (13 wk), 2022 (24 wk) and 2023 (23 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

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 Oct peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of MN

40th most drought-prone of 87 MN counties; the MN middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Watonwan County (3.8 in 10) and Polk County (3.8 in 10). Driest in MN: Wadena County (5 in 10). Least drought: Pennington County (1.9 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (32% of weeks), then Mar (27%) and Aug (24%). Least in Jun (2%). May to September averages 14%.

19 Jan
22 Feb
27 Mar
22 Apr
9 May
2 Jun
16 Jul
24 Aug
22 Sep
32 Oct
20 Nov
19 Dec

The worst year: 2013

2013: 39 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 19.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 4% at D2, 0.5% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 39 weeks, Aug 26, 2003 to May 18, 2004.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 23 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.