DroughtOdds

Drought in Whiteside County, IL: 2.7 years in 10 since 2000

2.7 years in 10

Whiteside County, IL: 7 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

  1. 19
  2. 0
  3. 3
  4. 34
  5. 0
  6. 29
  7. 15
  8. 0
  9. 0
  10. 0
  11. 0
  12. 0
  13. 27
  14. 29
  15. 7
  16. 0
  17. 0
  18. 0
  19. 0
  20. 5
  21. 1
  22. 7
  23. 8
  24. 11
  25. 11
  26. 18

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (19 wk), 2003 (34 wk), 2005 (29 wk), 2006 (15 wk), 2012 (27 wk), 2013 (29 wk) and 2025 (18 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

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 Feb, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of IL

27th most drought-prone of 102 IL counties; the IL middle is 2.3 in 10. Closest on the list: Grundy County (3.1 in 10) and Mercer County (2.7 in 10). Driest in IL: Hancock County (3.8 in 10). Least drought: Edwards County (0.4 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Feb (25% of weeks), then Sep (24%) and Oct (23%). Least in May (3%). May to September averages 12%.

  1. 22 Jan
  2. 25 Feb
  3. 20 Mar
  4. 9 Apr
  5. 3 May
  6. 9 Jun
  7. 10 Jul
  8. 13 Aug
  9. 24 Sep
  10. 23 Oct
  11. 21 Nov
  12. 22 Dec

The worst year: 2003

2003: 34 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 16.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 6.9% at D2, 2.4% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 44 weeks, Jun 14, 2005 to Apr 11, 2006.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 18 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 9 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Whiteside County lands on the plan covered in changing to a drought-tolerant grass. Its last ten years ran wetter than the ten before; what that does and does not mean. How each of Whiteside County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.