Drought in Hatillo Municipio, PR: 1.2 years in 10 since 2000

1.2 years in 10

Hatillo Municipio, PR: 3 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2021 (21 wk), 2022 (18 wk) and 2023 (34 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2025.

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 Aug turns dry.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (3 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (0 in 10).

Against the rest of PR

15th most drought-prone of 78 PR counties; the PR middle is 0.4 in 10. Closest on the list: Naranjito Municipio (1.2 in 10) and Patillas Municipio (1.2 in 10). Driest in PR: Salinas Municipio (2.7 in 10). Least drought: Mayaguez Municipio (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Aug (10% of weeks), then Feb (9%) and Mar (9%). Least in Apr (3%). May to September averages 7%.

7 Jan
9 Feb
9 Mar
3 Apr
4 May
7 Jun
8 Jul
10 Aug
7 Sep
6 Oct
4 Nov
4 Dec

The worst year: 2023

2023: 34 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 6.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 0.3% at D2, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 34 weeks, Apr 4, 2023 to Nov 21, 2023.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 34 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 0 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 0 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.