Drought in Mathews County, VA: 1.5 years in 10 since 2000

1.5 years in 10

Mathews County, VA: 4 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (43 wk), 2007 (23 wk), 2008 (16 wk) and 2024 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021.

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 VA

107th most drought-prone of 133 VA counties; the VA middle is 1.9 in 10. Closest on the list: Lexington City (1.5 in 10) and Hanover County (1.5 in 10). Driest in VA: Halifax County (3.1 in 10). Least drought: Covington City (1.2 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (16% of weeks), then Oct (16%) and Apr (16%). Least in Mar (8%). May to September averages 13%.

15 Jan
13 Feb
8 Mar
16 Apr
11 May
12 Jun
15 Jul
12 Aug
16 Sep
16 Oct
14 Nov
13 Dec

The worst year: 2002

2002: 43 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 13.4% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 6.4% at D2, 0.7% at D3, 1 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 52 weeks, Oct 30, 2001 to Oct 22, 2002.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 1.9 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 33 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.