Drought in Richmond City, VA: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000

1.9 years in 10

Richmond City, VA: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (46 wk), 2006 (13 wk), 2007 (20 wk), 2008 (18 wk) and 2010 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2023.

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

94th most drought-prone of 133 VA counties; the VA middle is 1.9 in 10. Closest on the list: King and Queen County (1.9 in 10) and Buchanan County (1.9 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 Jul (15%) and Aug (14%). Least in Mar (9%). May to September averages 13%.

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

The worst year: 2002

2002: 46 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 12.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 4.9% at D2, 1.4% at D3, 4 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 55 weeks, Oct 30, 2001 to Nov 12, 2002.

Lately

Last drought year: 2010, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 0 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 16 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.