Drought in Ozaukee County, WI: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000

1.9 years in 10

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

1. 2
2. 0
3. 0
4. 31
5. 8
6. 26
7. 0
8. 4
9. 0
10. 0
11. 0
12. 0
13. 17
14. 0
15. 0
16. 0
17. 0
18. 0
19. 0
20. 0
21. 0
22. 15
23. 8
24. 14
25. 11
26. 11

20002025

Drought years: 2003 (31 wk), 2005 (26 wk), 2012 (17 wk), 2021 (15 wk) and 2023 (14 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

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 Jul turns dry.

Against the rest of WI

55th most drought-prone of 72 WI counties; the WI middle is 2.7 in 10. Closest on the list: Grant County (1.9 in 10) and Wood County (1.9 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 Jul (17% of weeks), then Nov (15%) and Oct (15%). Least in May (3%). May to September averages 11%.

1. 6 Jan
2. 10 Feb
3. 10 Mar
4. 7 Apr
5. 3 May
6. 10 Jun
7. 17 Jul
8. 14 Aug
9. 12 Sep
10. 15 Oct
11. 15 Nov
12. 7 Dec

The worst year: 2003

2003: 31 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 10.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 1.6% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 26 weeks, Jun 14, 2005 to Dec 6, 2005.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 14 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 1.9 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 1 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Ozaukee County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2003, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Ozaukee County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.