Drought in Wallowa County, OR: 5.8 years in 10 since 2000

5.8 years in 10

Wallowa County, OR: 15 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (43 wk), 2002 (19 wk), 2003 (32 wk), 2005 (48 wk), 2007 (25 wk), 2013 (13 wk), 2014 (13 wk), 2015 (52 wk), 2016 (31 wk), 2018 (19 wk), 2021 (32 wk), 2022 (44 wk), 2023 (42 wk), 2024 (31 wk) and 2025 (30 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2019 and 2020.

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 Sep peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (7 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (5 in 10).

Against the rest of OR

6th most drought-prone of 36 OR counties; the OR middle is 4.4 in 10. Closest on the list: Klamath County (6.2 in 10) and Grant County (5.4 in 10). Driest in OR: Lake County (7.7 in 10). Least drought: Clatsop County (2.7 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (54% of weeks), then Aug (50%) and Oct (48%). Least in Apr (21%). May to September averages 41%.

30 Jan
35 Feb
29 Mar
21 Apr
24 May
35 Jun
40 Jul
50 Aug
54 Sep
48 Oct
41 Nov
43 Dec

The worst year: 2015

2015: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 37.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 16% at D2, 4.6% at D3, 20 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 76 weeks, May 25, 2021 to Nov 1, 2022.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 30 weeks. 2016-2025: 7 in 10, against 5 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 44 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.