Drought in Suffolk County, NY: 1.2 years in 10 since 2000

1.2 years in 10

Suffolk County, NY: 3 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

1. 0
2. 8
3. 30
4. 0
5. 0
6. 2
7. 0
8. 0
9. 0
10. 0
11. 7
12. 0
13. 6
14. 11
15. 2
16. 33
17. 31
18. 11
19. 0
20. 0
21. 5
22. 0
23. 12
24. 4
25. 9
26. 4

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (30 wk), 2015 (33 wk) and 2016 (31 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2018, 2019 and 2021.

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 Aug turns dry.

Against the rest of NY

19th most drought-prone of 62 NY counties; the NY middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Nassau County (1.2 in 10) and Livingston County (1.2 in 10). Driest in NY: Rockland County (2.3 in 10). Least drought: Otsego County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Aug (24% of weeks), then Dec (19%) and Nov (19%). Least in Mar (5%). May to September averages 15%.

1. 13 Jan
2. 7 Feb
3. 5 Mar
4. 8 Apr
5. 8 May
6. 13 Jun
7. 15 Jul
8. 24 Aug
9. 16 Sep
10. 16 Oct
11. 19 Nov
12. 19 Dec

The worst year: 2015

2015: 33 weeks in drought, peaking at D1 moderate. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 13.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 4.1% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 39 weeks, Jun 21, 2016 to Mar 14, 2017.

Lately

Last drought year: 2016, 31 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 1.3 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 14 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Suffolk County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2015, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Suffolk County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.