Drought in Haskell County, TX: 5.8 years in 10 since 2000

5.8 years in 10

Haskell County, TX: 15 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

1. 23
2. 15
3. 0
4. 16
5. 7
6. 2
7. 40
8. 9
9. 16
10. 34
11. 1
12. 45
13. 52
14. 53
15. 52
16. 24
17. 0
18. 2
19. 26
20. 12
21. 3
22. 17
23. 52
24. 19
25. 5
26. 6

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (23 wk), 2001 (15 wk), 2003 (16 wk), 2006 (40 wk), 2008 (16 wk), 2009 (34 wk), 2011 (45 wk), 2012 (52 wk), 2013 (53 wk), 2014 (52 wk), 2015 (24 wk), 2018 (26 wk), 2021 (17 wk), 2022 (52 wk) and 2023 (19 wk). Not a single drought week in 2002 and 2016.

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

Against the rest of TX

116th most drought-prone of 254 TX counties; the TX middle is 5.8 in 10. Closest on the list: McLennan County (5.8 in 10) and Coke County (5.8 in 10). Driest in TX: Uvalde County (7.7 in 10). Least drought: Jasper County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Mar (49% of weeks), then Feb (47%) and Jan (46%). Least in Jun (25%). May to September averages 35%.

1. 46 Jan
2. 47 Feb
3. 49 Mar
4. 42 Apr
5. 37 May
6. 25 Jun
7. 30 Jul
8. 41 Aug
9. 43 Sep
10. 39 Oct
11. 35 Nov
12. 37 Dec

The worst year: 2012

2012: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 39.3% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 24.7% at D2, 12.4% at D3, 112 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 222 weeks, Feb 22, 2011 to May 19, 2015.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 19 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 6.9 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 19 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Haskell County lands on the plan covered in shrinking the lawn. Its last ten years ran wetter than the ten before; what that does and does not mean. How each of Haskell County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.