DroughtOdds

Drought in Lea County, NM: 7.3 years in 10 since 2000

7.3 years in 10

Lea County, NM: 19 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

  1. 41
  2. 32
  3. 32
  4. 35
  5. 18
  6. 0
  7. 24
  8. 0
  9. 16
  10. 18
  11. 2
  12. 52
  13. 52
  14. 53
  15. 36
  16. 0
  17. 4
  18. 0
  19. 35
  20. 2
  21. 30
  22. 33
  23. 52
  24. 52
  25. 46
  26. 29

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (41 wk), 2001 (32 wk), 2002 (32 wk), 2003 (35 wk), 2004 (18 wk), 2006 (24 wk), 2008 (16 wk), 2009 (18 wk), 2011 (52 wk), 2012 (52 wk), 2013 (53 wk), 2014 (36 wk), 2018 (35 wk), 2020 (30 wk), 2021 (33 wk), 2022 (52 wk), 2023 (52 wk), 2024 (46 wk) and 2025 (29 wk). Not a single drought week in 2005, 2007, 2015 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 Jun peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of NM

12th most drought-prone of 33 NM counties; the NM middle is 6.9 in 10. Closest on the list: Eddy County (7.3 in 10) and Lincoln County (7.3 in 10). Driest in NM: Hidalgo County (8.1 in 10). Least drought: San Miguel County (5.4 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Jun (67% of weeks), then Jul (60%) and Mar (58%). Least in Nov (41%). May to September averages 57%.

  1. 44 Jan
  2. 56 Feb
  3. 58 Mar
  4. 55 Apr
  5. 54 May
  6. 67 Jun
  7. 60 Jul
  8. 54 Aug
  9. 50 Sep
  10. 47 Oct
  11. 41 Nov
  12. 44 Dec

The worst year: 2011

2011: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 52.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 28.7% at D2, 13.3% at D3, 161 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 195 weeks, Dec 21, 2010 to Sep 9, 2014.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 29 weeks. 2016-2025: 7 in 10, against 7.5 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 41 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Lea County lands on the plan covered in shrinking the lawn. Its worst year, 2011, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Lea County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.