Drought in Grays Harbor County, WA: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000

1.9 years in 10

Grays Harbor County, WA: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (40 wk), 2015 (23 wk), 2019 (22 wk), 2023 (14 wk) and 2025 (22 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2020, 2021 and 2024.

A regular lawn is fine here; plan for the odd dry year

Real droughts are rare here. A smart controller that skips watering after rain covers the odd dry year.

You can keep a regular lawn. Worth doing: a rain-sensing or smart controller, and deeper, less frequent watering if Sep turns dry.

Against the rest of WA

36th most drought-prone of 39 WA counties; the WA middle is 3.5 in 10. Closest on the list: Island County (1.9 in 10) and Mason County (1.9 in 10). Driest in WA: Grant County (5 in 10). Least drought: Jefferson County (1.5 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (31% of weeks), then Aug (24%) and Oct (23%). Least in Dec (3%). May to September averages 19%.

3 Jan
5 Feb
3 Mar
3 Apr
8 May
12 Jun
19 Jul
24 Aug
31 Sep
23 Oct
10 Nov
3 Dec

The worst year: 2001

2001: 40 weeks in drought, peaking at D1 moderate. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 12.2% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 3.3% at D2, 0.4% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 40 weeks, Feb 13, 2001 to Nov 13, 2001.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 22 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 1.3 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.