Drought in Mifflin County, PA: 1.2 years in 10 since 2000

1.2 years in 10

Mifflin County, PA: 3 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

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

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (15 wk), 2016 (20 wk) and 2020 (16 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2024.

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 PA

21st most drought-prone of 67 PA counties; the PA middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Juniata County (1.2 in 10) and Lehigh County (0.8 in 10). Driest in PA: Adams County (1.9 in 10). Least drought: Susquehanna County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (13% of weeks), then Oct (9%) and Aug (8%). Least in May (3%). May to September averages 6%.

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

The worst year: 2016

2016: 20 weeks in drought, peaking at D1 moderate. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 5.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 20 weeks, Jul 26, 2016 to Dec 6, 2016.

Lately

Last drought year: 2020, 16 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 10 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Mifflin County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2016, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Mifflin County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.