Drought in Seneca County, NY: 1.5 years in 10 since 2000

1.5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2012 (14 wk), 2016 (26 wk), 2020 (13 wk) and 2025 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

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 Aug 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 NY

17th most drought-prone of 62 NY counties; the NY middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Erie County (1.5 in 10) and Nassau County (1.2 in 10). Driest in NY: Rockland County (2.3 in 10). Least drought: Otsego County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Aug (15% of weeks), then Oct (13%) and Nov (12%). Least in Jun (0%). May to September averages 6%.

3 Jan
0 Feb
0 Mar
0 Apr
2 May
0 Jun
6 Jul
15 Aug
9 Sep
13 Oct
12 Nov
11 Dec

The worst year: 2016

2016: 26 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 5.9% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 1.4% at D2, 0.7% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 30 weeks, Jul 5, 2016 to Jan 24, 2017.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.