Drought in Williams County, OH: 2.7 years in 10 since 2000

2.7 years in 10

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

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (20 wk), 2002 (18 wk), 2003 (15 wk), 2012 (26 wk), 2023 (13 wk), 2024 (19 wk) and 2025 (19 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

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

Against the rest of OH

1st most drought-prone of 88 OH counties; the OH middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Fulton County (2.7 in 10). Least drought: Ashtabula County (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Dec (21% of weeks), then Nov (18%) and Jul (17%). Least in May (4%). May to September averages 10%.

1. 14 Jan
2. 13 Feb
3. 13 Mar
4. 10 Apr
5. 4 May
6. 10 Jun
7. 17 Jul
8. 8 Aug
9. 12 Sep
10. 17 Oct
11. 18 Nov
12. 21 Dec

The worst year: 2012

2012: 26 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 12.9% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 2.3% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 26 weeks, Oct 8, 2002 to Apr 1, 2003.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 19 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 2.5 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 10 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Williams County lands on the plan covered in changing to a drought-tolerant grass. Its worst year, 2012, was one of the worst nationally too; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Williams County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.