DroughtOdds

Drought in Tulsa County, OK: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

Tulsa County, OK: 9 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

  1. 7
  2. 6
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 0
  6. 5
  7. 42
  8. 0
  9. 0
  10. 0
  11. 1
  12. 34
  13. 36
  14. 22
  15. 31
  16. 13
  17. 10
  18. 16
  19. 13
  20. 0
  21. 2
  22. 8
  23. 42
  24. 8
  25. 5
  26. 0

20002025

Drought years: 2006 (42 wk), 2011 (34 wk), 2012 (36 wk), 2013 (22 wk), 2014 (31 wk), 2015 (13 wk), 2017 (16 wk), 2018 (13 wk) and 2022 (42 wk). Not a single drought week in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2019 and 2025.

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 OK

58th most drought-prone of 77 OK counties; the OK middle is 4.6 in 10. Closest on the list: Rogers County (3.5 in 10) and Craig County (3.5 in 10). Driest in OK: Cimarron County (6.9 in 10). Least drought: McIntosh County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Jan (30% of weeks), then Oct (30%) and Sep (29%). Least in Jun (9%). May to September averages 20%.

  1. 30 Jan
  2. 28 Feb
  3. 27 Mar
  4. 26 Apr
  5. 14 May
  6. 9 Jun
  7. 23 Jul
  8. 26 Aug
  9. 29 Sep
  10. 30 Oct
  11. 18 Nov
  12. 24 Dec

The worst year: 2006

2006: 42 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 23.7% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 11.2% at D2, 4.4% at D3, 35 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 48 weeks, Jul 3, 2012 to May 28, 2013.

Lately

Last drought year: 2022, 42 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 28 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Tulsa County lands on the plan covered in changing to a drought-tolerant grass. Its worst year, 2006, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Tulsa County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.