Drought in Northwest Arctic Borough, AK: 0 years in 10 since 2000

0 years in 10

Northwest Arctic Borough, AK: 0 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. No full-season drought since 2000.

1. 0
2. 0
3. 0
4. 0
5. 0
6. 0
7. 0
8. 0
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. 0
23. 0
24. 0
25. 0
26. 0

20002025

No year reached the drought line. Not a single drought week in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

A regular lawn is fine here

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 Jan turns dry.

Against the rest of AK

30th most drought-prone of 30 AK counties; the AK middle is 0 in 10. Closest on the list: North Slope Borough (0 in 10). Driest in AK: Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area (0.8 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Jan (0% of weeks), then Feb (0%) and Mar (0%). Least in Dec (0%). May to September averages 0%.

1. 0 Jan
2. 0 Feb
3. 0 Mar
4. 0 Apr
5. 0 May
6. 0 Jun
7. 0 Jul
8. 0 Aug
9. 0 Sep
10. 0 Oct
11. 0 Nov
12. 0 Dec

The worst year: 2013

2013: 0 weeks in drought, peaking at D1 moderate. Across 1,401 weekly maps: never any D4.

Lately

No drought year on record. 2016-2025: 0 in 10, against 0 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Northwest Arctic Borough lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2013, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Northwest Arctic Borough's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.