Drought in Yankton County, SD: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

Yankton County, SD: 9 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (26 wk), 2012 (35 wk), 2013 (23 wk), 2020 (14 wk), 2021 (45 wk), 2022 (40 wk), 2023 (27 wk), 2024 (16 wk) and 2025 (37 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2018 and 2019.

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.

This is one step drier than the yearly count alone suggests, because 27% of growing-season weeks here were in drought.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (6 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (1.9 in 10).

Against the rest of SD

42nd most drought-prone of 66 SD counties; the SD middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Union County (3.5 in 10) and Charles Mix County (3.5 in 10). Driest in SD: Jackson County (6.9 in 10). Least drought: Clark County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Aug (29% of weeks), then May (29%) and Feb (27%). Least in Mar (20%). May to September averages 27%.

26 Jan
27 Feb
20 Mar
23 Apr
29 May
25 Jun
26 Jul
29 Aug
26 Sep
26 Oct
23 Nov
23 Dec

The worst year: 2021

2021: 45 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 25.3% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 14.1% at D2, 5.4% at D3, 37 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 54 weeks, Oct 14, 2025 to Oct 20, 2026.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 37 weeks. 2016-2025: 6 in 10, against 1.9 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 42 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.