Drought in Polk County, WI: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

Polk County, WI: 10 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2003 (21 wk), 2004 (18 wk), 2007 (22 wk), 2009 (52 wk), 2010 (25 wk), 2012 (16 wk), 2013 (36 wk), 2021 (13 wk), 2022 (19 wk) and 2023 (16 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2011, 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 Dec peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of WI

10th most drought-prone of 72 WI counties; the WI middle is 2.7 in 10. Closest on the list: Bayfield County (3.8 in 10) and Forest County (3.8 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 Dec (32% of weeks), then Sep (29%) and Mar (27%). Least in May (10%). May to September averages 19%.

26 Jan
25 Feb
27 Mar
20 Apr
10 May
12 Jun
17 Jul
26 Aug
29 Sep
20 Oct
27 Nov
32 Dec

The worst year: 2009

2009: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 22.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 4.9% at D2, 0.4% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 85 weeks, Nov 11, 2008 to Jun 22, 2010.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 16 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 14 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.