Drought in Plymouth County, MA: 1.5 years in 10 since 2000

1.5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (24 wk), 2016 (24 wk), 2020 (17 wk) and 2022 (15 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2018, 2019, 2021 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 Aug 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 MA

12th most drought-prone of 14 MA counties; the MA middle is 1.9 in 10. Closest on the list: Bristol County (1.5 in 10) and Dukes County (1.2 in 10). Driest in MA: Worcester County (3.1 in 10). Least drought: Berkshire County (1.2 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Aug (19% of weeks), then Nov (15%) and Oct (15%). Least in Jun (5%). May to September averages 11%.

10 Jan
13 Feb
8 Mar
8 Apr
8 May
5 Jun
7 Jul
19 Aug
15 Sep
15 Oct
15 Nov
13 Dec

The worst year: 2016

2016: 24 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 11.2% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 3.9% at D2, 0.5% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 35 weeks, Jul 19, 2016 to Mar 14, 2017.

Lately

Last drought year: 2022, 15 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 23 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.