Drought in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, AK: 0.8 years in 10 since 2000
0.8 years in 10
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, AK: 2 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.
- 0
- 0
- 1
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 8
- 0
- 0
- 31
- 46
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 10
- 0
20002025
Drought years: 2018 (31 wk) and 2019 (46 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025.
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 (2 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (0 in 10).
Against the rest of AK
1st most drought-prone of 30 AK counties; the AK middle is 0 in 10. Closest on the list: Ketchikan Gateway Borough (0.8 in 10). Least drought: Northwest Arctic Borough (0 in 10).
When in the year it hits
Most often in Aug (17% of weeks), then Jul (13%) and Sep (12%). Least in Dec (4%). May to September averages 10%.
- 4 Jan
- 4 Feb
- 7 Mar
- 7 Apr
- 4 May
- 4 Jun
- 13 Jul
- 17 Aug
- 12 Sep
- 8 Oct
- 5 Nov
- 4 Dec
The worst year: 2019
2019: 46 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 7.4% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 4.1% at D2, 1.5% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 70 weeks, Jul 17, 2018 to Nov 12, 2019.
Lately
Last drought year: 2019, 46 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 0 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 8 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.
Further reading
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its last ten years ran drier than the ten before; what that does and does not mean. How each of Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.