DroughtOdds

Drought in Catahoula Parish, LA: 2.3 years in 10 since 2000

2.3 years in 10

Catahoula Parish, LA: 6 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

  1. 34
  2. 3
  3. 7
  4. 1
  5. 0
  6. 11
  7. 11
  8. 7
  9. 11
  10. 0
  11. 35
  12. 45
  13. 5
  14. 1
  15. 0
  16. 9
  17. 13
  18. 10
  19. 11
  20. 6
  21. 0
  22. 5
  23. 23
  24. 21
  25. 10
  26. 1

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (34 wk), 2010 (35 wk), 2011 (45 wk), 2016 (13 wk), 2022 (23 wk) and 2023 (21 wk). Not a single drought week in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2020.

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

Against the rest of LA

36th most drought-prone of 64 LA counties; the LA middle is 2.7 in 10. Closest on the list: Pointe Coupee Parish (2.7 in 10) and Jefferson Davis Parish (2.3 in 10). Driest in LA: Caddo Parish (4.6 in 10). Least drought: East Feliciana Parish (1.9 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (30% of weeks), then Aug (30%) and Oct (27%). Least in Apr (12%). May to September averages 23%.

  1. 23 Jan
  2. 20 Feb
  3. 19 Mar
  4. 12 Apr
  5. 18 May
  6. 22 Jun
  7. 23 Jul
  8. 30 Aug
  9. 22 Sep
  10. 27 Oct
  11. 30 Nov
  12. 26 Dec

The worst year: 2011

2011: 45 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 22.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 11.7% at D2, 4.5% at D3, 31 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 70 weeks, May 4, 2010 to Aug 30, 2011.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 21 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 1.9 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 35 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Catahoula Parish lands on the plan covered in changing to a drought-tolerant grass. Its worst year, 2011, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Catahoula Parish's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.