DroughtOdds

Drought in Scotland County, MO: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

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

  1. 27
  2. 0
  3. 5
  4. 31
  5. 0
  6. 24
  7. 45
  8. 1
  9. 0
  10. 0
  11. 0
  12. 16
  13. 29
  14. 29
  15. 10
  16. 0
  17. 5
  18. 5
  19. 33
  20. 0
  21. 0
  22. 0
  23. 18
  24. 35
  25. 6
  26. 6

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (27 wk), 2003 (31 wk), 2005 (24 wk), 2006 (45 wk), 2011 (16 wk), 2012 (29 wk), 2013 (29 wk), 2018 (33 wk), 2022 (18 wk) and 2023 (35 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

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 Oct peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of MO

13th most drought-prone of 115 MO counties; the MO middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Schuyler County (3.8 in 10) and Gentry County (3.8 in 10). Driest in MO: Jasper County (4.6 in 10). Least drought: Perry County (1.2 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (32% of weeks), then Sep (30%) and Nov (28%). Least in Apr (15%). May to September averages 23%.

  1. 23 Jan
  2. 25 Feb
  3. 24 Mar
  4. 15 Apr
  5. 18 May
  6. 21 Jun
  7. 21 Jul
  8. 27 Aug
  9. 30 Sep
  10. 32 Oct
  11. 28 Nov
  12. 23 Dec

The worst year: 2006

2006: 45 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 23.7% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 7.7% at D2, 0.9% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 46 weeks, Jul 19, 2005 to May 30, 2006.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 35 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 7 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Scotland County lands on the plan covered in shrinking the lawn. Its worst year, 2006, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Scotland County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.