Drought in Pocahontas County, WV: 0.8 years in 10 since 2000

0.8 years in 10

Pocahontas County, WV: 2 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

1. 1
2. 8
3. 23
4. 0
5. 0
6. 0
7. 0
8. 0
9. 10
10. 0
11. 10
12. 5
13. 0
14. 0
15. 0
16. 0
17. 0
18. 0
19. 0
20. 0
21. 0
22. 5
23. 0
24. 1
25. 25
26. 11

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (23 wk) and 2024 (25 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 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 Nov turns dry.

Against the rest of WV

22nd most drought-prone of 55 WV counties; the WV middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Mingo County (0.8 in 10) and Boone County (0.8 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 Nov (16% of weeks), then Oct (14%) and Dec (11%). Least in Jun (4%). May to September averages 6%.

1. 4 Jan
2. 7 Feb
3. 4 Mar
4. 6 Apr
5. 5 May
6. 4 Jun
7. 4 Jul
8. 7 Aug
9. 10 Sep
10. 14 Oct
11. 16 Nov
12. 11 Dec

The worst year: 2024

2024: 25 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 7.7% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 2.4% at D2, 0.5% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 25 weeks, Jun 25, 2024 to Dec 10, 2024.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 25 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 9 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Pocahontas County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2024, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Pocahontas County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.