DroughtOdds

Drought in Halifax County, VA: 3.1 years in 10 since 2000

3.1 years in 10

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

  1. 3
  2. 14
  3. 46
  4. 0
  5. 0
  6. 7
  7. 15
  8. 24
  9. 28
  10. 0
  11. 4
  12. 12
  13. 6
  14. 2
  15. 0
  16. 0
  17. 0
  18. 18
  19. 15
  20. 6
  21. 0
  22. 13
  23. 5
  24. 8
  25. 8
  26. 10

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (14 wk), 2002 (46 wk), 2006 (15 wk), 2007 (24 wk), 2008 (28 wk), 2017 (18 wk), 2018 (15 wk) and 2021 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2020.

Keep a lawn, but switch to drought-tolerant grass

Dry years come often enough to kill a thirsty lawn every few summers. Keep the lawn, reseed with a drought-tolerant mix, and put the beds on drip.

If you reseed, use a drought-tolerant mix and do it well clear of Dec, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of VA

1st most drought-prone of 133 VA counties; the VA middle is 1.9 in 10. Closest on the list: Charlottesville City (3.1 in 10). Least drought: Covington City (1.2 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Dec (27% of weeks), then Nov (27%) and Mar (25%). Least in May (14%). May to September averages 16%.

  1. 25 Jan
  2. 19 Feb
  3. 25 Mar
  4. 22 Apr
  5. 14 May
  6. 17 Jun
  7. 16 Jul
  8. 16 Aug
  9. 16 Sep
  10. 23 Oct
  11. 27 Nov
  12. 27 Dec

The worst year: 2002

2002: 46 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 20.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 8.5% at D2, 3.9% at D3, 14 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 55 weeks, Oct 30, 2001 to Nov 12, 2002.

Lately

Last drought year: 2021, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 44 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Halifax County lands on the plan covered in changing to a drought-tolerant grass. Its worst year, 2002, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Halifax County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.