Drought in Jefferson County, WV: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000
1.9 years in 10
Jefferson County, WV: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.
- 0
- 9
- 31
- 0
- 0
- 4
- 3
- 14
- 0
- 4
- 12
- 4
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 3
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 33
- 26
- 38
20002025
Drought years: 2002 (31 wk), 2007 (14 wk), 2023 (33 wk), 2024 (26 wk) and 2025 (38 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
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 Sep turns dry.
Against the rest of WV
3rd most drought-prone of 55 WV counties; the WV middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: McDowell County (2.3 in 10) and Berkeley County (1.9 in 10). Driest in WV: Mercer County (2.3 in 10). Least drought: Hancock County (0.4 in 10).
When in the year it hits
Most often in Sep (25% of weeks), then Aug (22%) and Oct (21%). Least in Jan (11%). May to September averages 18%.
- 11 Jan
- 11 Feb
- 13 Mar
- 16 Apr
- 14 May
- 11 Jun
- 18 Jul
- 22 Aug
- 25 Sep
- 21 Oct
- 13 Nov
- 15 Dec
The worst year: 2025
2025: 38 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 15.8% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 5.9% at D2, 1.1% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 57 weeks, Sep 9, 2025 to Oct 6, 2026.
Lately
Last drought year: 2025, 38 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 1.3 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 40 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.
Further reading
Jefferson County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2025, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Jefferson County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.