Drought in Del Norte County, CA: 3.1 years in 10 since 2000

3.1 years in 10

Del Norte County, CA: 8 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (43 wk), 2013 (35 wk), 2014 (51 wk), 2015 (32 wk), 2018 (20 wk), 2020 (41 wk), 2021 (40 wk) and 2022 (37 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2023, 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 Sep peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

This is one step drier than the yearly count alone suggests, because 31% of growing-season weeks here were in drought.

Against the rest of CA

58th most drought-prone of 58 CA counties; the CA middle is 4.6 in 10. Closest on the list: Humboldt County (3.5 in 10). Driest in CA: Imperial County (6.9 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (37% of weeks), then Oct (33%) and Jun (31%). Least in Feb (9%). May to September averages 31%.

13 Jan
9 Feb
13 Mar
19 Apr
26 May
31 Jun
29 Jul
31 Aug
37 Sep
33 Oct
28 Nov
24 Dec

The worst year: 2014

2014: 51 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 24.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 13.6% at D2, 1.7% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 86 weeks, May 7, 2013 to Dec 23, 2014.

Lately

Last drought year: 2022, 37 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 2.5 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 24 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.