Drought in Contra Costa County, CA: 4.2 years in 10 since 2000

4.2 years in 10

Contra Costa County, CA: 11 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

1. 0
2. 12
3. 0
4. 0
5. 0
6. 0
7. 0
8. 38
9. 32
10. 52
11. 3
12. 0
13. 48
14. 35
15. 52
16. 52
17. 52
18. 1
19. 3
20. 0
21. 45
22. 52
23. 52
24. 8
25. 0
26. 0

20002025

Drought years: 2007 (38 wk), 2008 (32 wk), 2009 (52 wk), 2012 (48 wk), 2013 (35 wk), 2014 (52 wk), 2015 (52 wk), 2016 (52 wk), 2020 (45 wk), 2021 (52 wk) and 2022 (52 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2019, 2024 and 2025.

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

Against the rest of CA

43rd most drought-prone of 58 CA counties; the CA middle is 4.6 in 10. Closest on the list: Sacramento County (4.2 in 10) and Solano County (4.2 in 10). Driest in CA: Imperial County (6.9 in 10). Least drought: Del Norte County (3.1 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (47% of weeks), then Sep (45%) and Oct (43%). Least in Feb (29%). May to September averages 41%.

1. 33 Jan
2. 29 Feb
3. 32 Mar
4. 31 Apr
5. 37 May
6. 42 Jun
7. 41 Jul
8. 40 Aug
9. 45 Sep
10. 43 Oct
11. 47 Nov
12. 41 Dec

The worst year: 2014

2014: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 38.3% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 28% at D2, 10.8% at D3, 144 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 192 weeks, May 7, 2013 to Jan 3, 2017.

Lately

Last drought year: 2022, 52 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Contra Costa County lands on the plan covered in shrinking the lawn. Its worst year, 2014, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Contra Costa County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.