Drought in Philadelphia County, PA: 1.5 years in 10 since 2000

1.5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (46 wk), 2016 (16 wk), 2024 (17 wk) and 2025 (24 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 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 Nov turns dry.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (3 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (0.6 in 10).

Against the rest of PA

2nd most drought-prone of 67 PA counties; the PA middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Adams County (1.9 in 10) and Lancaster County (1.5 in 10). Driest in PA: Adams County (1.9 in 10). Least drought: Susquehanna County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (17% of weeks), then Oct (16%) and Dec (16%). Least in Aug (3%). May to September averages 8%.

15 Jan
15 Feb
12 Mar
11 Apr
11 May
9 Jun
8 Jul
3 Aug
8 Sep
16 Oct
17 Nov
16 Dec

The worst year: 2002

2002: 46 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 11.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 4.1% at D2, 1.4% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 55 weeks, Oct 30, 2001 to Nov 12, 2002.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 24 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 27 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.