Drought in Stevens County, MN: 5 years in 10 since 2000

5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (16 wk), 2003 (24 wk), 2004 (21 wk), 2009 (17 wk), 2012 (30 wk), 2013 (40 wk), 2014 (16 wk), 2020 (31 wk), 2021 (32 wk), 2022 (14 wk), 2023 (24 wk), 2024 (13 wk) and 2025 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2017 and 2019.

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 Feb peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of MN

3rd most drought-prone of 87 MN counties; the MN middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Lake County (5 in 10) and Hubbard County (4.6 in 10). Driest in MN: Wadena County (5 in 10). Least drought: Pennington County (1.9 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Feb (34% of weeks), then Mar (32%) and Sep (32%). Least in May (12%). May to September averages 19%.

23 Jan
34 Feb
32 Mar
26 Apr
12 May
12 Jun
16 Jul
21 Aug
32 Sep
29 Oct
22 Nov
24 Dec

The worst year: 2013

2013: 40 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 23.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 4.1% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 45 weeks, Jun 2, 2020 to Apr 6, 2021.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 6 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 9 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.