Drought in Washington County, MN: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

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

1. 5
2. 0
3. 0
4. 21
5. 19
6. 0
7. 4
8. 9
9. 17
10. 42
11. 3
12. 0
13. 21
14. 34
15. 7
16. 11
17. 0
18. 0
19. 0
20. 0
21. 0
22. 26
23. 33
24. 23
25. 6
26. 0

20002025

Drought years: 2003 (21 wk), 2004 (19 wk), 2008 (17 wk), 2009 (42 wk), 2012 (21 wk), 2013 (34 wk), 2021 (26 wk), 2022 (33 wk) and 2023 (23 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 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 Sep, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of MN

54th most drought-prone of 87 MN counties; the MN middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Nobles County (3.5 in 10) and Blue Earth County (3.5 in 10). Driest in MN: Wadena County (5 in 10). Least drought: Pennington County (1.9 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (33% of weeks), then Oct (31%) and Nov (25%). Least in Jun (7%). May to September averages 19%.

1. 22 Jan
2. 21 Feb
3. 20 Mar
4. 17 Apr
5. 12 May
6. 7 Jun
7. 19 Jul
8. 24 Aug
9. 33 Sep
10. 31 Oct
11. 25 Nov
12. 24 Dec

The worst year: 2009

2009: 42 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 21.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 8.4% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 59 weeks, Sep 9, 2008 to Oct 20, 2009.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 23 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 15 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Washington County lands on the plan covered in changing to a drought-tolerant grass. Its worst year, 2009, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Washington County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.