Drought in San Jacinto County, TX: 4.2 years in 10 since 2000

4.2 years in 10

San Jacinto County, TX: 11 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (29 wk), 2005 (16 wk), 2006 (27 wk), 2009 (14 wk), 2010 (13 wk), 2011 (52 wk), 2012 (22 wk), 2013 (32 wk), 2020 (14 wk), 2022 (20 wk) and 2023 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2004, 2007, 2017 and 2018.

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

Against the rest of TX

228th most drought-prone of 254 TX counties; the TX middle is 5.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Trinity County (4.2 in 10) and Van Zandt County (3.8 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 Nov (30% of weeks), then Feb (28%) and Mar (28%). Least in Sep (19%). May to September averages 21%.

23 Jan
28 Feb
28 Mar
22 Apr
19 May
20 Jun
21 Jul
27 Aug
19 Sep
23 Oct
30 Nov
21 Dec

The worst year: 2011

2011: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 23.3% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 10% at D2, 4.4% at D3, 53 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 74 weeks, Oct 26, 2010 to Mar 20, 2012.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 5 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 28 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.