Drought in Richland County, IL: 0.8 years in 10 since 2000

0.8 years in 10

Richland County, IL: 2 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

1. 11
2. 4
3. 5
4. 0
5. 0
6. 5
7. 0
8. 11
9. 0
10. 0
11. 4
12. 1
13. 16
14. 0
15. 0
16. 0
17. 0
18. 0
19. 1
20. 0
21. 2
22. 0
23. 8
24. 8
25. 6
26. 16

20002025

Drought years: 2012 (16 wk) and 2025 (16 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2021.

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 Sep turns dry.

Against the rest of IL

95th most drought-prone of 102 IL counties; the IL middle is 2.3 in 10. Closest on the list: Jefferson County (0.8 in 10) and Wayne County (0.8 in 10). Driest in IL: Hancock County (3.8 in 10). Least drought: Edwards County (0.4 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (16% of weeks), then Nov (15%) and Oct (11%). Least in Mar (1%). May to September averages 8%.

1. 9 Jan
2. 8 Feb
3. 1 Mar
4. 2 Apr
5. 5 May
6. 5 Jun
7. 8 Jul
8. 8 Aug
9. 16 Sep
10. 11 Oct
11. 15 Nov
12. 10 Dec

The worst year: 2012

2012: 16 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 8.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 2% at D2, 0.4% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 25 weeks, Sep 16, 2025 to Mar 3, 2026.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 16 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 15 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Richland County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2012, was one of the worst nationally too; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Richland County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.