Drought in Starke County, IN: 2.3 years in 10 since 2000

2.3 years in 10

Starke County, IN: 6 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (21 wk), 2003 (18 wk), 2005 (15 wk), 2012 (17 wk), 2020 (18 wk) and 2021 (14 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Keep a lawn, but switch to drought-tolerant grass

Dry years come often enough to kill a thirsty lawn every few summers. Keep the lawn, reseed with a drought-tolerant mix, and put the beds on drip.

If you reseed, use a drought-tolerant mix and do it well clear of Jan, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of IN

14th most drought-prone of 92 IN counties; the IN middle is 1.5 in 10. Closest on the list: Vermillion County (2.3 in 10) and Allen County (2.3 in 10). Driest in IN: LaGrange County (3.5 in 10). Least drought: Floyd County (0.4 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Jan (18% of weeks), then Dec (17%) and Nov (15%). Least in Aug (6%). May to September averages 9%.

18 Jan
14 Feb
11 Mar
10 Apr
9 May
10 Jun
9 Jul
6 Aug
10 Sep
8 Oct
15 Nov
17 Dec

The worst year: 2000

2000: 21 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 11.3% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 3.2% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 30 weeks, Sep 1, 2020 to Mar 23, 2021.

Lately

Last drought year: 2021, 14 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 2.5 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.