Drought in Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000
1.9 years in 10
Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.
- 0
- 9
- 27
- 0
- 0
- 4
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 1
- 0
- 7
- 12
- 0
- 19
- 26
- 17
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 9
- 0
- 9
- 14
20002025
Drought years: 2002 (27 wk), 2015 (19 wk), 2016 (26 wk), 2017 (17 wk) and 2025 (14 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023.
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 Dec turns dry.
Against the rest of CT
9th most drought-prone of 9 CT counties; the CT middle is 1.9 in 10. Closest on the list: Naugatuck Valley Planning Region (1.9 in 10). Driest in CT: Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region (2.7 in 10).
When in the year it hits
Most often in Dec (19% of weeks), then Nov (19%) and Jan (14%). Least in Jul (3%). May to September averages 9%.
- 14 Jan
- 11 Feb
- 10 Mar
- 12 Apr
- 13 May
- 5 Jun
- 3 Jul
- 9 Aug
- 13 Sep
- 11 Oct
- 19 Nov
- 19 Dec
The worst year: 2002
2002: 27 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 11.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 5.1% at D2, 1% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 39 weeks, Jul 26, 2016 to Apr 18, 2017.
Lately
Last drought year: 2025, 14 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 1.3 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 7 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.
Further reading
Western Connecticut Planning Region lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2002, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Western Connecticut Planning Region's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.