Drought in Houston County, TX: 4.2 years in 10 since 2000

4.2 years in 10

Houston County, TX: 11 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (27 wk), 2005 (21 wk), 2006 (41 wk), 2009 (19 wk), 2011 (52 wk), 2012 (14 wk), 2013 (27 wk), 2015 (14 wk), 2020 (15 wk), 2022 (30 wk) and 2023 (18 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2016 and 2017.

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

Against the rest of TX

224th most drought-prone of 254 TX counties; the TX middle is 5.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Grimes County (4.2 in 10) and Waller County (4.2 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 Oct (36% of weeks), then Sep (33%) and Aug (31%). Least in May (14%). May to September averages 25%.

29 Jan
29 Feb
29 Mar
22 Apr
14 May
22 Jun
23 Jul
31 Aug
33 Sep
36 Oct
27 Nov
25 Dec

The worst year: 2011

2011: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 26.8% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 13.1% at D2, 5.4% at D3, 47 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 74 weeks, Oct 26, 2010 to Mar 20, 2012.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 18 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 5 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 31 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.