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

1.9 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (21 wk), 2018 (14 wk), 2020 (15 wk), 2021 (43 wk) and 2025 (19 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2022.

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.

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

Against the rest of VT

3rd most drought-prone of 14 VT counties; the VT middle is 1.5499999999999998 in 10. Closest on the list: Orange County (1.9 in 10) and Windham 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 (21% of weeks), then Oct (20%) and Dec (14%). Least in Jul (3%). May to September averages 9%.

10 Jan
8 Feb
9 Mar
4 Apr
3 May
6 Jun
3 Jul
13 Aug
21 Sep
20 Oct
13 Nov
14 Dec

The worst year: 2021

2021: 43 weeks in drought, peaking at D1 moderate. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 10.4% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 1.1% at D2, 0.4% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 58 weeks, Sep 22, 2020 to Oct 26, 2021.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 19 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 23 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.