Drought in Somerset County, PA: 0.4 years in 10 since 2000

0.4 years in 10

Somerset County, PA: 1 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

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

20002025

Drought years: 2024 (24 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 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 PA

44th most drought-prone of 67 PA counties; the PA middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Potter County (0.4 in 10) and Warren County (0.4 in 10). Driest in PA: Adams County (1.9 in 10). Least drought: Susquehanna County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (13% of weeks), then Oct (6%) and Feb (6%). Least in Jun (2%). May to September averages 5%.

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

The worst year: 2024

2024: 24 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 4.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 1.4% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 24 weeks, Jul 2, 2024 to Dec 10, 2024.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 24 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 0 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 7 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Somerset County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2024, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Somerset County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.