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

0.8 years in 10

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

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

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (13 wk) and 2024 (22 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 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 Sep turns dry.

Against the rest of WV

34th most drought-prone of 55 WV counties; the WV middle is 0.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Roane County (0.8 in 10) and Randolph 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 Sep (15% of weeks), then Oct (8%) and Nov (6%). Least in Jan (0%). May to September averages 6%.

1. 0 Jan
2. 3 Feb
3. 4 Mar
4. 5 Apr
5. 4 May
6. 2 Jun
7. 3 Jul
8. 4 Aug
9. 15 Sep
10. 8 Oct
11. 6 Nov
12. 3 Dec

The worst year: 2024

2024: 22 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 4.7% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 1.2% at D2, 0.8% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 22 weeks, Jul 16, 2024 to Dec 10, 2024.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 22 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 5 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Preston 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 Preston County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.