Drought in Norfolk County, MA: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000

1.9 years in 10

Norfolk County, MA: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (25 wk), 2016 (25 wk), 2017 (15 wk), 2020 (16 wk) and 2022 (21 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023.

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 Oct turns dry.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (4 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (0.6 in 10).

Against the rest of MA

10th most drought-prone of 14 MA counties; the MA middle is 1.9 in 10. Closest on the list: Barnstable County (1.9 in 10) and Bristol County (1.5 in 10). Driest in MA: Worcester County (3.1 in 10). Least drought: Berkshire County (1.2 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (18% of weeks), then Sep (17%) and Nov (17%). Least in Jun (8%). May to September averages 11%.

9 Jan
13 Feb
13 Mar
8 Apr
8 May
8 Jun
9 Jul
14 Aug
17 Sep
18 Oct
17 Nov
14 Dec

The worst year: 2016

2016: 25 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 12.4% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 4.6% at D2, 1.4% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 38 weeks, Jul 12, 2016 to Mar 28, 2017.

Lately

Last drought year: 2022, 21 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 17 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.