Drought in Santa Isabel Municipio, PR: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000

1.9 years in 10

Santa Isabel Municipio, PR: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2015 (31 wk), 2016 (17 wk), 2019 (23 wk), 2021 (18 wk) and 2022 (21 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2024 and 2025.

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 Jul turns dry.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (4 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (0.6 in 10).

Against the rest of PR

4th most drought-prone of 78 PR counties; the PR middle is 0.4 in 10. Closest on the list: Cidra Municipio (1.9 in 10) and Aibonito Municipio (1.9 in 10). Driest in PR: Salinas Municipio (2.7 in 10). Least drought: Mayaguez Municipio (0 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Jul (24% of weeks), then Aug (22%) and Jun (19%). Least in May (3%). May to September averages 17%.

7 Jan
9 Feb
12 Mar
9 Apr
3 May
19 Jun
24 Jul
22 Aug
16 Sep
12 Oct
5 Nov
9 Dec

The worst year: 2015

2015: 31 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 12.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 5.4% at D2, 0.9% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 48 weeks, Jun 2, 2015 to Apr 26, 2016.

Lately

Last drought year: 2022, 21 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 0.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 23 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.