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

4.2 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (23 wk), 2005 (27 wk), 2006 (50 wk), 2011 (47 wk), 2012 (17 wk), 2013 (51 wk), 2014 (43 wk), 2015 (26 wk), 2018 (18 wk), 2022 (39 wk) and 2024 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2002, 2004 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 Aug peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of TX

216th most drought-prone of 254 TX counties; the TX middle is 5.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Cherokee County (4.6 in 10) and Grayson 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 Aug (42% of weeks), then Oct (40%) and Dec (39%). Least in May (23%). May to September averages 31%.

37 Jan
33 Feb
33 Mar
27 Apr
23 May
24 Jun
27 Jul
42 Aug
37 Sep
40 Oct
30 Nov
39 Dec

The worst year: 2013

2013: 51 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 32.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 13.4% at D2, 5.3% at D3, 33 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 59 weeks, Mar 11, 2014 to Apr 21, 2015.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 13 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.