Drought in Waushara County, WI: 1.5 years in 10 since 2000

1.5 years in 10

Waushara County, WI: 4 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

1. 8
2. 0
3. 0
4. 12
5. 2
6. 9
7. 0
8. 7
9. 15
10. 13
11. 0
12. 0
13. 15
14. 9
15. 0
16. 8
17. 0
18. 0
19. 0
20. 0
21. 0
22. 5
23. 12
24. 29
25. 4
26. 0

20002025

Drought years: 2008 (15 wk), 2009 (13 wk), 2012 (15 wk) and 2023 (29 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2025.

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 Aug turns dry.

Against the rest of WI

61st most drought-prone of 72 WI counties; the WI middle is 2.7 in 10. Closest on the list: Oconto County (1.5 in 10) and Winnebago County (1.5 in 10). Driest in WI: Barron County (4.6 in 10). Least drought: Fond du Lac County (0.8 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Aug (19% of weeks), then Oct (18%) and Sep (16%). Least in May (5%). May to September averages 12%.

1. 9 Jan
2. 8 Feb
3. 8 Mar
4. 6 Apr
5. 5 May
6. 5 Jun
7. 15 Jul
8. 19 Aug
9. 16 Sep
10. 18 Oct
11. 11 Nov
12. 10 Dec

The worst year: 2023

2023: 29 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 10.9% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 1.9% at D2, 0.5% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 32 weeks, Jun 13, 2023 to Jan 16, 2024.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 29 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 1.9 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 4 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Waushara County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2023, was one of the worst nationally too; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Waushara County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.