Drought in Saint Louis County, MN: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2003 (20 wk), 2006 (24 wk), 2007 (40 wk), 2010 (14 wk), 2011 (13 wk), 2012 (30 wk), 2013 (16 wk), 2021 (26 wk), 2024 (23 wk) and 2025 (27 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2014, 2016, 2017, 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 Mar peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of MN

27th most drought-prone of 87 MN counties; the MN middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Aitkin County (3.8 in 10) and Crow Wing County (3.8 in 10). Driest in MN: Wadena County (5 in 10). Least drought: Pennington County (1.9 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Mar (33% of weeks), then Apr (32%) and Sep (28%). Least in May (14%). May to September averages 19%.

23 Jan
24 Feb
33 Mar
32 Apr
14 May
16 Jun
17 Jul
19 Aug
28 Sep
24 Oct
23 Nov
23 Dec

The worst year: 2007

2007: 40 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 22.9% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 7.9% at D2, 2.4% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 64 weeks, Jul 18, 2006 to Oct 2, 2007.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 27 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 31 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.