Drought in Ottawa County, MI: 1.5 years in 10 since 2000

1.5 years in 10

Ottawa County, MI: 4 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

1. 3
2. 0
3. 1
4. 22
5. 0
6. 28
7. 0
8. 4
9. 0
10. 0
11. 0
12. 0
13. 7
14. 0
15. 0
16. 0
17. 0
18. 0
19. 0
20. 0
21. 9
22. 15
23. 0
24. 5
25. 10
26. 28

20002025

Drought years: 2003 (22 wk), 2005 (28 wk), 2021 (15 wk) and 2025 (28 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 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.

Against the rest of MI

41st most drought-prone of 83 MI counties; the MI middle is 1.5 in 10. Closest on the list: Sanilac County (1.5 in 10) and Presque Isle County (1.5 in 10). Driest in MI: Gogebic County (3.5 in 10). Least drought: Newaygo County (0.8 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (16% of weeks), then Aug (13%) and Oct (13%). Least in May (4%). May to September averages 11%.

1. 7 Jan
2. 7 Feb
3. 8 Mar
4. 8 Apr
5. 4 May
6. 8 Jun
7. 13 Jul
8. 13 Aug
9. 16 Sep
10. 13 Oct
11. 8 Nov
12. 8 Dec

The worst year: 2005

2005: 28 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 9.4% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 1.4% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 27 weeks, Jun 28, 2005 to Dec 27, 2005.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 28 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 1.3 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Ottawa County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2005, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Ottawa County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.