Drought in Wayne County, IA: 4.2 years in 10 since 2000

4.2 years in 10

Wayne County, IA: 11 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

1. 30
2. 0
3. 7
4. 45
5. 0
6. 22
7. 37
8. 1
9. 0
10. 0
11. 0
12. 7
13. 28
14. 34
15. 7
16. 0
17. 9
18. 32
19. 36
20. 0
21. 3
22. 0
23. 16
24. 31
25. 17
26. 0

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (30 wk), 2003 (45 wk), 2005 (22 wk), 2006 (37 wk), 2012 (28 wk), 2013 (34 wk), 2017 (32 wk), 2018 (36 wk), 2022 (16 wk), 2023 (31 wk) and 2024 (17 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2025.

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.

Against the rest of IA

24th most drought-prone of 99 IA counties; the IA middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Pottawattamie County (4.2 in 10) and Greene County (4.2 in 10). Driest in IA: Wapello County (5.4 in 10). Least drought: Howard County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Aug (34% of weeks), then Dec (31%) and Nov (30%). Least in May (16%). May to September averages 25%.

1. 27 Jan
2. 26 Feb
3. 28 Mar
4. 19 Apr
5. 16 May
6. 21 Jun
7. 24 Jul
8. 34 Aug
9. 29 Sep
10. 30 Oct
11. 30 Nov
12. 31 Dec

The worst year: 2003

2003: 45 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 26.2% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 9.4% at D2, 1.4% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 64 weeks, Jun 20, 2017 to Sep 4, 2018.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 17 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 5 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Wayne County lands on the plan covered in shrinking the lawn. Its worst year, 2003, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Wayne County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.