Drought in Atascosa County, TX: 6.5 years in 10 since 2000

6.5 years in 10

Atascosa County, TX: 17 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (35 wk), 2005 (26 wk), 2006 (52 wk), 2007 (13 wk), 2008 (44 wk), 2009 (42 wk), 2011 (52 wk), 2012 (43 wk), 2013 (25 wk), 2014 (29 wk), 2018 (13 wk), 2019 (26 wk), 2020 (20 wk), 2022 (47 wk), 2023 (40 wk), 2024 (18 wk) and 2025 (52 wk). Not a single drought week in 2004 and 2016.

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 Jan peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of TX

41st most drought-prone of 254 TX counties; the TX middle is 5.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Burnet County (6.5 in 10) and Gaines County (6.5 in 10). Driest in TX: Uvalde County (7.7 in 10). Least drought: Jasper County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Jan (54% of weeks), then Mar (54%) and Aug (54%). Least in Jul (37%). May to September averages 46%.

54 Jan
50 Feb
54 Mar
50 Apr
48 May
41 Jun
37 Jul
54 Aug
51 Sep
48 Oct
41 Nov
44 Dec

The worst year: 2006

2006: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 47.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 27.7% at D2, 16.8% at D3, 200 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 108 weeks, Oct 15, 2024 to Nov 3, 2026.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 52 weeks. 2016-2025: 7 in 10, against 6.3 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 44 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.