Drought in Mecosta County, MI: 0.8 years in 10 since 2000

0.8 years in 10

Mecosta County, MI: 2 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

1. 0
2. 0
3. 9
4. 22
5. 3
6. 2
7. 0
8. 2
9. 0
10. 0
11. 0
12. 0
13. 0
14. 0
15. 0
16. 0
17. 0
18. 0
19. 0
20. 0
21. 0
22. 9
23. 0
24. 5
25. 12
26. 29

20002025

Drought years: 2003 (22 wk) and 2025 (29 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2001, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022.

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.

Against the rest of MI

82nd most drought-prone of 83 MI counties; the MI middle is 1.5 in 10. Closest on the list: Oscoda County (0.8 in 10) and Newaygo County (0.8 in 10). Driest in MI: Gogebic County (3.5 in 10). Least drought: Newaygo County (0.8 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Dec (13% of weeks), then Nov (12%) and Oct (9%). Least in Aug (2%). May to September averages 4%.

1. 8 Jan
2. 7 Feb
3. 7 Mar
4. 6 Apr
5. 4 May
6. 6 Jun
7. 2 Jul
8. 2 Aug
9. 8 Sep
10. 9 Oct
11. 12 Nov
12. 13 Dec

The worst year: 2025

2025: 29 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 6.9% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 1.3% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 27 weeks, Nov 5, 2002 to May 6, 2003.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 29 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 3 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Mecosta County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2025, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Mecosta County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.