Counties with the most months in extreme drought

Ranked by months at -4 or lower on the Palmer index since 1895. Carbon County, MT, leads with 223.

Counties with the most months in extreme drought

1	Carbon County MT	223	347	−7.48
2	Sheridan County WY	219	324	−8.29
3	Apache County AZ	197	329	−8.24
4	Montrose County CO	181	281	−9.60
5	Montezuma County CO	175	288	−7.96
6	Navajo County AZ	173	307	−7.51
7	Carbon County WY	173	301	−9.24
8	Albany County WY	170	317	−9.24
9	Fremont County WY	170	276	−8.97
10	San Miguel County CO	167	287	−9.00
11	Crook County OR	167	298	−8.05
12	Big Horn County MT	166	268	−7.16
13	Coconino County AZ	166	297	−7.62
14	Catron County NM	165	312	−7.43
15	Madison County ID	165	320	−8.87
16	Bingham County ID	165	304	−7.40
17	Comal County TX	160	303	−6.88
18	Big Horn County WY	159	297	−7.16
19	Bexar County TX	156	311	−6.60
20	Silver Bow County MT	156	267	−7.16
21	Lincoln County ID	156	275	−8.13
22	Meagher County MT	155	257	−8.06
23	Eureka County NV	154	300	−8.05
24	Moffat County CO	154	262	−9.68
25	Los Angeles County CA	154	276	−7.94
26	Elko County NV	154	334	−7.75
27	Box Elder County UT	152	317	−8.45
28	Sandoval County NM	152	301	−8.53
29	Stillwater County MT	148	257	−7.38
30	Jefferson County ID	147	296	−7.70
31	Medina County TX	145	294	−6.00
32	Broadwater County MT	144	292	−6.96
33	Sublette County WY	142	299	−6.61
34	Hays County TX	142	288	−6.74
35	Gooding County ID	141	282	−7.59
36	Morrow County OR	140	281	−7.05
37	Storey County NV	140	311	−7.22
38	Ventura County CA	140	250	−8.03
39	Guadalupe County TX	139	299	−6.53
40	Jefferson County MT	138	228	−7.31
41	Gila County AZ	138	282	−6.80
42	Clark County ID	138	306	−9.06
43	Greenlee County AZ	137	302	−6.58
44	Lander County NV	136	259	−6.56
45	Hot Springs County WY	136	223	−7.27
46	Johnson County WY	134	261	−7.93
47	Asotin County WA	134	258	−7.87
48	Kern County CA	134	311	−7.44
49	Orange County CA	133	306	−7.12
50	Dolores County CO	133	254	−8.48
51	Decatur County KS	132	218	−7.31
52	McPherson County NE	131	233	−6.66
53	Twin Falls County ID	131	280	−8.55
54	San Diego County CA	131	268	−6.75
55	Ouray County CO	130	229	−8.08
56	Sweetwater County WY	130	254	−7.57
57	Mesa County CO	130	247	−8.50
58	Grant County NM	130	314	−6.01
59	Hooker County NE	129	217	−7.47
60	Santa Barbara County CA	129	237	−8.68
61	Goliad County TX	128	282	−6.06
62	Owyhee County ID	128	247	−7.93
63	Los Alamos County NM	128	240	−7.76
64	Morrison County MN	127	229	−7.60
65	Stearns County MN	126	222	−9.50
66	Refugio County TX	125	266	−6.18
67	Bernalillo County NM	125	286	−7.25
68	Butte County ID	125	299	−7.68
69	Pondera County MT	125	287	−6.79
70	Rio Arriba County NM	124	254	−9.32
71	Lyon County NV	123	312	−6.20
72	Caldwell County TX	122	271	−6.51
73	Washoe County NV	121	299	−6.59
74	Aransas County TX	121	268	−6.39
75	Judith Basin County MT	121	241	−7.62
76	Custer County NE	121	191	−8.08
77	Jerome County ID	121	262	−8.04
78	Sweet Grass County MT	120	222	−7.04
79	Chaffee County CO	120	213	−7.19
80	Bee County TX	120	279	−6.03
81	Costilla County CO	119	206	−8.14
82	La Plata County CO	119	233	−8.06
83	Harney County OR	119	261	−7.56
84	Itasca County MN	119	247	−6.66
85	Crook County WY	118	245	−7.04
86	Kearney County NE	118	191	−7.17
87	San Juan County NM	117	248	−7.77
88	San Joaquin County CA	117	272	−7.56
89	Dawson County NE	117	200	−7.75
90	Graham County KS	117	244	−6.41
91	Lake County OR	117	242	−6.97
92	White Pine County NV	116	252	−8.26
93	Lincoln County NM	116	255	−6.28
94	Frio County TX	115	295	−6.05
95	Crow Wing County MN	115	227	−6.60
96	Delta County CO	115	243	−8.37
97	Natrona County WY	114	242	−8.44
98	Hall County NE	114	169	−8.61
99	Daggett County UT	114	248	−8.36
100	Malheur County OR	114	253	−7.31

Figures come from each place’s page and share its sources and rules; see the methodology.

More drought rankings

Counties with the most months in drought