Drought in De Soto Parish, LA: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

De Soto Parish, LA: 10 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (22 wk), 2005 (20 wk), 2006 (17 wk), 2010 (32 wk), 2011 (52 wk), 2012 (14 wk), 2017 (18 wk), 2018 (15 wk), 2022 (22 wk) and 2023 (19 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2020.

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 LA

5th most drought-prone of 64 LA counties; the LA middle is 2.7 in 10. Closest on the list: Webster Parish (3.8 in 10) and Claiborne Parish (3.8 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 (31% of weeks), then Oct (30%) and Jan (29%). Least in Apr (10%). May to September averages 24%.

1. 29 Jan
2. 24 Feb
3. 21 Mar
4. 10 Apr
5. 13 May
6. 24 Jun
7. 29 Jul
8. 27 Aug
9. 28 Sep
10. 30 Oct
11. 31 Nov
12. 25 Dec

The worst year: 2011

2011: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 24.3% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 13.6% at D2, 4.8% at D3, 37 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 96 weeks, May 25, 2010 to Mar 20, 2012.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 19 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 40 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

De Soto Parish lands on the plan covered in shrinking the lawn. Its worst year, 2011, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of De Soto Parish's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.