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

3.8 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (25 wk), 2003 (19 wk), 2006 (32 wk), 2012 (30 wk), 2013 (29 wk), 2017 (19 wk), 2022 (14 wk), 2023 (33 wk), 2024 (26 wk) and 2025 (19 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 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

15th most drought-prone of 115 MO counties; the MO middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Gentry County (3.8 in 10) and Cedar 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 (33% of weeks), then Nov (33%) and Dec (24%). Least in Jul (12%). May to September averages 16%.

21 Jan
24 Feb
23 Mar
17 Apr
13 May
13 Jun
12 Jul
22 Aug
19 Sep
33 Oct
33 Nov
24 Dec

The worst year: 2023

2023: 33 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 21.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 4.6% at D2, 1.2% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 40 weeks, Jun 5, 2012 to Mar 5, 2013.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 19 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 5 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.