Drought in Stark County, OH: 0.4 years in 10 since 2000

0.4 years in 10

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

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

20002025

Drought years: 2012 (15 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 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 OH

73rd most drought-prone of 88 OH counties; the OH middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Lorain County (0.4 in 10) and Huron County (0.4 in 10). Driest in OH: Williams County (2.7 in 10). Least drought: Ashtabula County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (16% of weeks), then Aug (14%) and Jul (10%). Least in Apr (0%). May to September averages 9%.

1. 0 Jan
2. 0 Feb
3. 0 Mar
4. 0 Apr
5. 1 May
6. 4 Jun
7. 10 Jul
8. 14 Aug
9. 16 Sep
10. 8 Oct
11. 3 Nov
12. 4 Dec

The worst year: 2012

2012: 15 weeks in drought, peaking at D1 moderate. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 4.9% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 0.4% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 15 weeks, Jul 3, 2012 to Oct 9, 2012.

Lately

Last drought year: 2012, 15 weeks. 2016-2025: 0 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Stark County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2012, was one of the worst nationally too; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Stark County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.