Is my lawn dead?

[craig1385a]

I live in the Chicago suburbs and never water my lawn in the summer. I just let it go dormant and it comes back fine in the fall. Unfortunately we suffered through an extended drought this year so the amount of rain that it received was less than normal. Most of lawn areas that receive no shade are now a grayish brown, not the yellowish brown you see in a dormant lawn. The color is exactly the same as a piece of dead sod. There are only a few green bits here and there. Is my lawn dead? If not, how can I help it recover?

craig from illinois

[trader4]

If the lawn has now received an inch of water a week for a couple of weeks, it should be coming back from being dormant. If it's had water and hasn't started to come back by now, it's dead. If it's reviving and getting regular water now, then after it's resumed growing, I'd add fertilizer now and again i late Oct. Also, check and adjust PH.