Drought in Sitka City and Borough, AK: 0.4 years in 10 since 2000
0.4 years in 10
Sitka City and Borough, AK: 1 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.
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- 1
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- 8
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- 22
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20002025
Drought years: 2019 (22 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
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 Jul turns dry.
Against the rest of AK
8th most drought-prone of 30 AK counties; the AK middle is 0 in 10. Closest on the list: Juneau City and Borough (0.4 in 10) and Anchorage Municipality (0.4 in 10). Driest in AK: Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area (0.8 in 10). Least drought: Northwest Arctic Borough (0 in 10).
When in the year it hits
Most often in Jul (7% of weeks), then Aug (6%) and Apr (4%). Least in Dec (0%). May to September averages 4%.
- 0 Jan
- 1 Feb
- 3 Mar
- 4 Apr
- 1 May
- 1 Jun
- 7 Jul
- 6 Aug
- 3 Sep
- 0 Oct
- 0 Nov
- 0 Dec
The worst year: 2019
2019: 22 weeks in drought, peaking at D1 moderate. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 2.2% of all weeks at D1 or worse, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 12 weeks, Jul 9, 2019 to Sep 24, 2019.
Lately
Last drought year: 2019, 22 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 0 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.
Further reading
Sitka City and Borough lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2019, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Sitka City and Borough's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.