Drought in Liberty County, TX: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

Liberty County, TX: 9 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (33 wk), 2006 (22 wk), 2010 (13 wk), 2011 (47 wk), 2012 (19 wk), 2013 (23 wk), 2022 (15 wk), 2023 (20 wk) and 2025 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2017.

Keep a lawn, but switch to drought-tolerant grass

Dry years come often enough to kill a thirsty lawn every few summers. Keep the lawn, reseed with a drought-tolerant mix, and put the beds on drip.

If you reseed, use a drought-tolerant mix and do it well clear of Nov, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of TX

239th most drought-prone of 254 TX counties; the TX middle is 5.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Rusk County (3.5 in 10) and Polk County (3.5 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 Nov (34% of weeks), then Aug (28%) and Oct (24%). Least in Sep (18%). May to September averages 22%.

18 Jan
21 Feb
20 Mar
24 Apr
20 May
21 Jun
21 Jul
28 Aug
18 Sep
24 Oct
34 Nov
18 Dec

The worst year: 2011

2011: 47 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 22.3% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 9.9% at D2, 4.1% at D3, 45 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 52 weeks, Feb 22, 2011 to Feb 14, 2012.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 27 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.