Drought in Olmsted County, MN: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

Olmsted County, MN: 9 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

20002025

Drought years: 2003 (22 wk), 2004 (19 wk), 2008 (19 wk), 2009 (36 wk), 2012 (32 wk), 2013 (21 wk), 2021 (15 wk), 2023 (28 wk) and 2024 (19 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Keep a lawn, but switch to drought-tolerant grass

Dry years come often enough to kill a thirsty lawn every few summers. Keep the lawn, reseed with a drought-tolerant mix, and put the beds on drip.

If you reseed, use a drought-tolerant mix and do it well clear of Mar, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of MN

64th most drought-prone of 87 MN counties; the MN middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Isanti County (3.5 in 10) and Goodhue County (3.5 in 10). Driest in MN: Wadena County (5 in 10). Least drought: Pennington County (1.9 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Mar (26% of weeks), then Nov (26%) and Feb (23%). Least in Jun (11%). May to September averages 13%.

20 Jan
23 Feb
26 Mar
18 Apr
12 May
11 Jun
12 Jul
12 Aug
19 Sep
22 Oct
26 Nov
23 Dec

The worst year: 2009

2009: 36 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 18.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 4.6% at D2, 1.9% at D3, 1 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 52 weeks, Aug 26, 2008 to Aug 18, 2009.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 19 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 2 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.