Drought in Sussex County, NJ: 1.5 years in 10 since 2000

1.5 years in 10

Sussex County, NJ: 4 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (27 wk), 2016 (22 wk), 2017 (13 wk) and 2025 (34 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020 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 Dec turns dry.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (3 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (0.6 in 10).

Against the rest of NJ

7th most drought-prone of 21 NJ counties; the NJ middle is 1.2 in 10. Closest on the list: Somerset County (1.5 in 10) and Mercer County (1.5 in 10). Driest in NJ: Passaic County (1.9 in 10). Least drought: Monmouth County (0.4 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Dec (20% of weeks), then Nov (18%) and Jan (15%). Least in Jul (3%). May to September averages 9%.

15 Jan
15 Feb
14 Mar
15 Apr
13 May
10 Jun
3 Jul
4 Aug
14 Sep
12 Oct
18 Nov
20 Dec

The worst year: 2025

2025: 34 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 12.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 4.3% at D2, 0.6% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 40 weeks, Sep 23, 2025 to Jun 23, 2026.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 34 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 25 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.