Drought in Pierce County, NE: 4.2 years in 10 since 2000

4.2 years in 10

Pierce County, NE: 11 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (45 wk), 2003 (13 wk), 2012 (26 wk), 2013 (41 wk), 2014 (16 wk), 2020 (15 wk), 2021 (15 wk), 2022 (47 wk), 2023 (43 wk), 2024 (15 wk) and 2025 (37 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2018 and 2019.

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 Aug peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (6 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (3.1 in 10).

Against the rest of NE

76th most drought-prone of 93 NE counties; the NE middle is 5 in 10. Closest on the list: Saunders County (4.2 in 10) and Cass County (4.2 in 10). Driest in NE: Banner County (6.5 in 10). Least drought: Cuming County (2.7 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Aug (35% of weeks), then Jul (31%) and May (30%). Least in Dec (20%). May to September averages 31%.

25 Jan
28 Feb
29 Mar
28 Apr
30 May
29 Jun
31 Jul
35 Aug
28 Sep
29 Oct
22 Nov
20 Dec

The worst year: 2022

2022: 47 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 28% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 16.9% at D2, 6.6% at D3, 75 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 90 weeks, Feb 8, 2022 to Oct 24, 2023.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 37 weeks. 2016-2025: 6 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 42 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.