Drought in Refugio County, TX: 5.8 years in 10 since 2000

5.8 years in 10

Refugio County, TX: 15 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (36 wk), 2006 (25 wk), 2008 (37 wk), 2009 (48 wk), 2011 (37 wk), 2012 (29 wk), 2013 (49 wk), 2014 (36 wk), 2018 (22 wk), 2019 (14 wk), 2020 (21 wk), 2022 (26 wk), 2023 (33 wk), 2024 (15 wk) and 2025 (30 wk). Not a single drought week in 2004, 2007, 2010, 2015 and 2016.

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 Apr peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (7 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (5 in 10).

Against the rest of TX

124th most drought-prone of 254 TX counties; the TX middle is 5.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Victoria County (5.8 in 10) and Delta County (5.8 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 Apr (49% of weeks), then Mar (48%) and May (43%). Least in Jul (28%). May to September averages 35%.

30 Jan
39 Feb
48 Mar
49 Apr
43 May
41 Jun
28 Jul
33 Aug
33 Sep
35 Oct
38 Nov
31 Dec

The worst year: 2013

2013: 49 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 37.2% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 19.5% at D2, 10.1% at D3, 91 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 63 weeks, Sep 23, 2008 to Dec 1, 2009.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 30 weeks. 2016-2025: 7 in 10, against 5 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 32 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.