Drought in Union County, PA: 0.8 years in 10 since 2000

0.8 years in 10

Union County, PA: 2 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

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

20002025

Drought years: 2017 (16 wk) and 2020 (14 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 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 Dec turns dry.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (2 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (0 in 10).

Against the rest of PA

26th most drought-prone of 67 PA counties; the PA middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Cumberland County (0.8 in 10) and Snyder County (0.8 in 10). Driest in PA: Adams County (1.9 in 10). Least drought: Susquehanna County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Dec (15% of weeks), then Feb (10%) and Mar (9%). Least in May (2%). May to September averages 4%.

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

The worst year: 2017

2017: 16 weeks in drought, peaking at D1 moderate. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 6.7% of all weeks at D1 or worse, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 23 weeks, Nov 15, 2016 to Apr 18, 2017.

Lately

Last drought year: 2020, 14 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 0 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 11 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Union County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its last ten years ran drier than the ten before; what that does and does not mean. How each of Union County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.