Drought in Miner County, SD: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (20 wk), 2004 (14 wk), 2012 (33 wk), 2013 (20 wk), 2015 (14 wk), 2021 (43 wk), 2022 (15 wk), 2023 (35 wk), 2024 (13 wk) and 2025 (26 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018 and 2019.

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

Against the rest of SD

35th most drought-prone of 66 SD counties; the SD middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Buffalo County (3.8 in 10) and Edmunds County (3.8 in 10). Driest in SD: Jackson County (6.9 in 10). Least drought: Clark County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Feb (28% of weeks), then Mar (26%) and Apr (24%). Least in Nov (16%). May to September averages 20%.

23 Jan
28 Feb
26 Mar
24 Apr
20 May
20 Jun
23 Jul
19 Aug
19 Sep
19 Oct
16 Nov
17 Dec

The worst year: 2021

2021: 43 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 21.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 6.8% at D2, 0.7% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 44 weeks, Jul 10, 2012 to May 7, 2013.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 26 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 35 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.