Drought in Sandusky County, OH: 1.5 years in 10 since 2000

1.5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (22 wk), 2020 (14 wk), 2024 (16 wk) and 2025 (16 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019.

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 Nov 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 OH

12th most drought-prone of 88 OH counties; the OH middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Ottawa County (1.5 in 10) and Allen County (1.5 in 10). Driest in OH: Williams County (2.7 in 10). Least drought: Ashtabula County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

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

8 Jan
11 Feb
13 Mar
5 Apr
1 May
2 Jun
12 Jul
10 Aug
15 Sep
14 Oct
15 Nov
15 Dec

The worst year: 2002

2002: 22 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 10% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 0.9% at D2, 0.2% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 29 weeks, Sep 16, 2025 to Mar 31, 2026.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 16 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 13 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.