Drought in Scott County, MN: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (15 wk), 2003 (22 wk), 2004 (20 wk), 2008 (15 wk), 2009 (33 wk), 2011 (13 wk), 2012 (30 wk), 2013 (34 wk), 2022 (25 wk) and 2023 (25 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2025.

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 MN

34th most drought-prone of 87 MN counties; the MN middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Big Stone County (3.8 in 10) and Waseca 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 Oct (31% of weeks), then Feb (25%) and Nov (24%). Least in Jun (8%). May to September averages 16%.

23 Jan
25 Feb
22 Mar
19 Apr
11 May
8 Jun
18 Jul
19 Aug
23 Sep
31 Oct
24 Nov
24 Dec

The worst year: 2013

2013: 34 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 20.3% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 7.1% at D2, 0.5% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 41 weeks, Oct 28, 2008 to Aug 4, 2009.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 25 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 5 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 10 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.