Drought in Orange County, VT: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000

1.9 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (18 wk), 2002 (13 wk), 2020 (19 wk), 2021 (25 wk) and 2025 (20 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 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 Sep turns dry.

Against the rest of VT

2nd most drought-prone of 14 VT counties; the VT middle is 1.5499999999999998 in 10. Closest on the list: Windsor County (2.7 in 10) and Orleans County (1.9 in 10). Driest in VT: Windsor County (2.7 in 10). Least drought: Chittenden County (0.4 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (18% of weeks), then Dec (17%) and Nov (16%). Least in May (1%). May to September averages 6%.

15 Jan
14 Feb
12 Mar
5 Apr
1 May
4 Jun
3 Jul
5 Aug
18 Sep
16 Oct
16 Nov
17 Dec

The worst year: 2021

2021: 25 weeks in drought, peaking at D1 moderate. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 10.4% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 1.4% at D2, 0.6% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 37 weeks, Aug 25, 2020 to May 4, 2021.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 20 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 1.3 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 24 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.