Drought in Union County, SD: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (37 wk), 2012 (40 wk), 2013 (25 wk), 2020 (26 wk), 2021 (43 wk), 2022 (37 wk), 2023 (34 wk), 2024 (15 wk) and 2025 (36 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2018 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 Aug peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

This is one step drier than the yearly count alone suggests, because 29% of growing-season weeks here were in drought.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (6 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (1.9 in 10).

Against the rest of SD

41st most drought-prone of 66 SD counties; the SD middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Aurora County (3.5 in 10) and Yankton County (3.5 in 10). Driest in SD: Jackson County (6.9 in 10). Least drought: Clark County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Aug (36% of weeks), then Jul (33%) and May (29%). Least in Nov (21%). May to September averages 29%.

26 Jan
27 Feb
25 Mar
24 Apr
29 May
24 Jun
33 Jul
36 Aug
25 Sep
26 Oct
21 Nov
24 Dec

The worst year: 2021

2021: 43 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 26.7% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 14.4% at D2, 4.3% at D3, 31 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 69 weeks, Jul 7, 2020 to Oct 26, 2021.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 36 weeks. 2016-2025: 6 in 10, against 1.9 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 36 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.