Drought in Otter Tail County, MN: 4.6 years in 10 since 2000

4.6 years in 10

Otter Tail County, MN: 12 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2003 (25 wk), 2004 (21 wk), 2006 (25 wk), 2007 (31 wk), 2008 (14 wk), 2012 (32 wk), 2013 (17 wk), 2021 (17 wk), 2022 (14 wk), 2023 (20 wk), 2024 (14 wk) and 2025 (20 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2014, 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 Feb peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of MN

12th most drought-prone of 87 MN counties; the MN middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Carver County (4.6 in 10) and Itasca County (4.2 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 Feb (30% of weeks), then Jan (28%) and Oct (27%). Least in Jun (0%). May to September averages 12%.

28 Jan
30 Feb
26 Mar
22 Apr
8 May
0 Jun
8 Jul
20 Aug
24 Sep
27 Oct
23 Nov
26 Dec

The worst year: 2012

2012: 32 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 20.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 3.1% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 40 weeks, Aug 26, 2003 to May 25, 2004.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 20 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 7 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.