Drought in Shelby County, IA: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (50 wk), 2003 (30 wk), 2005 (16 wk), 2006 (23 wk), 2012 (24 wk), 2013 (32 wk), 2020 (25 wk), 2022 (13 wk), 2023 (52 wk) and 2024 (33 wk). Not a single drought week in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019.

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

Against the rest of IA

39th most drought-prone of 99 IA counties; the IA middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Harrison County (3.8 in 10) and Kossuth County (3.8 in 10). Driest in IA: Wapello County (5.4 in 10). Least drought: Howard County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (36% of weeks), then Jan (34%) and Oct (32%). Least in May (9%). May to September averages 19%.

34 Jan
31 Feb
28 Mar
28 Apr
9 May
10 Jun
23 Jul
24 Aug
26 Sep
32 Oct
36 Nov
28 Dec

The worst year: 2023

2023: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 25.8% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 10.6% at D2, 1.3% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 80 weeks, Oct 25, 2022 to Apr 30, 2024.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 33 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 5 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.