DroughtOdds

Drought in Imperial County, CA: 6.9 years in 10 since 2000

6.9 years in 10

Imperial County, CA: 18 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

  1. 0
  2. 0
  3. 40
  4. 50
  5. 52
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 52
  9. 53
  10. 14
  11. 3
  12. 0
  13. 42
  14. 47
  15. 42
  16. 52
  17. 52
  18. 52
  19. 52
  20. 5
  21. 16
  22. 52
  23. 52
  24. 8
  25. 13
  26. 45

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (40 wk), 2003 (50 wk), 2004 (52 wk), 2007 (52 wk), 2008 (53 wk), 2009 (14 wk), 2012 (42 wk), 2013 (47 wk), 2014 (42 wk), 2015 (52 wk), 2016 (52 wk), 2017 (52 wk), 2018 (52 wk), 2020 (16 wk), 2021 (52 wk), 2022 (52 wk), 2024 (13 wk) and 2025 (45 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2001 and 2011.

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

Against the rest of CA

1st most drought-prone of 58 CA counties; the CA middle is 4.6 in 10. Closest on the list: Modoc County (6.9 in 10). Least drought: Del Norte County (3.1 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (66% of weeks), then Oct (65%) and Sep (65%). Least in Feb (48%). May to September averages 57%.

  1. 59 Jan
  2. 48 Feb
  3. 49 Mar
  4. 57 Apr
  5. 55 May
  6. 55 Jun
  7. 57 Jul
  8. 55 Aug
  9. 65 Sep
  10. 65 Oct
  11. 66 Nov
  12. 63 Dec

The worst year: 2007

2007: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 57.7% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 27.6% at D2, 10.9% at D3, 17 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 255 weeks, Mar 18, 2014 to Jan 29, 2019.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 45 weeks. 2016-2025: 8 in 10, against 6.3 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 11 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Imperial County lands on the plan covered in shrinking the lawn. Its worst year, 2007, was one of the worst nationally too; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Imperial County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.