Drought in Shawano County, WI: 1.2 years in 10 since 2000

1.2 years in 10

Shawano County, WI: 3 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

1. 2
2. 0
3. 0
4. 3
5. 5
6. 11
7. 0
8. 15
9. 18
10. 30
11. 0
12. 0
13. 4
14. 0
15. 0
16. 9
17. 0
18. 0
19. 0
20. 0
21. 0
22. 0
23. 0
24. 10
25. 8
26. 9

20002025

Drought years: 2007 (15 wk), 2008 (18 wk) and 2009 (30 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

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 Sep turns dry.

Against the rest of WI

66th most drought-prone of 72 WI counties; the WI middle is 2.7 in 10. Closest on the list: Sheboygan County (1.2 in 10) and Outagamie County (1.2 in 10). Driest in WI: Barron County (4.6 in 10). Least drought: Fond du Lac County (0.8 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (22% of weeks), then Oct (20%) and Aug (13%). Least in Jun (0%). May to September averages 10%.

1. 7 Jan
2. 7 Feb
3. 9 Mar
4. 8 Apr
5. 5 May
6. 0 Jun
7. 9 Jul
8. 13 Aug
9. 22 Sep
10. 20 Oct
11. 7 Nov
12. 9 Dec

The worst year: 2009

2009: 30 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 9.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 0.9% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 36 weeks, Sep 2, 2008 to May 5, 2009.

Lately

Last drought year: 2009, 30 weeks. 2016-2025: 0 in 10, against 1.9 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 11 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Shawano County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2009, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Shawano County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.