Drought in Oneida County, WI: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2007 (43 wk), 2008 (26 wk), 2009 (52 wk), 2010 (30 wk), 2012 (13 wk), 2013 (18 wk), 2022 (26 wk), 2023 (28 wk), 2024 (30 wk) and 2025 (21 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

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

Against the rest of WI

5th most drought-prone of 72 WI counties; the WI middle is 2.7 in 10. Closest on the list: Rusk County (4.2 in 10) and Washburn County (3.8 in 10). Driest in WI: Barron County (4.6 in 10). Least drought: Fond du Lac County (0.8 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Dec (42% of weeks), then Nov (38%) and Jan (35%). Least in May (11%). May to September averages 18%.

35 Jan
32 Feb
24 Mar
14 Apr
11 May
14 Jun
19 Jul
21 Aug
25 Sep
32 Oct
38 Nov
42 Dec

The worst year: 2009

2009: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 25.4% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 8.9% at D2, 1.3% at D3, 2 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 101 weeks, Aug 26, 2008 to Jul 27, 2010.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 21 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 25 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.