Drought in Cherokee County, TX: 4.6 years in 10 since 2000

4.6 years in 10

Cherokee County, TX: 12 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (24 wk), 2005 (21 wk), 2006 (50 wk), 2011 (52 wk), 2013 (26 wk), 2015 (13 wk), 2018 (14 wk), 2020 (13 wk), 2021 (15 wk), 2022 (30 wk), 2023 (19 wk) and 2024 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

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

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (6 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (3.8 in 10).

Against the rest of TX

215th most drought-prone of 254 TX counties; the TX middle is 5.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Matagorda County (4.6 in 10) and Kaufman County (4.2 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 Oct (40% of weeks), then Nov (37%) and Dec (35%). Least in Apr (16%). May to September averages 23%.

28 Jan
28 Feb
29 Mar
16 Apr
17 May
19 Jun
20 Jul
28 Aug
31 Sep
40 Oct
37 Nov
35 Dec

The worst year: 2011

2011: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 27.2% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 12.9% at D2, 5% at D3, 23 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 69 weeks, Nov 30, 2010 to Mar 20, 2012.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 6 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 31 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.