Drought in Santa Rosa County, FL: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

Santa Rosa County, FL: 9 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (42 wk), 2006 (18 wk), 2007 (26 wk), 2010 (15 wk), 2011 (45 wk), 2012 (23 wk), 2019 (15 wk), 2022 (14 wk) and 2023 (16 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2005, 2008, 2017 and 2021.

Keep a lawn, but switch to drought-tolerant grass

Dry years come often enough to kill a thirsty lawn every few summers. Keep the lawn, reseed with a drought-tolerant mix, and put the beds on drip.

If you reseed, use a drought-tolerant mix and do it well clear of Nov, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of FL

19th most drought-prone of 67 FL counties; the FL middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Hillsborough County (3.5 in 10) and Bay County (3.5 in 10). Driest in FL: Leon County (4.2 in 10). Least drought: Monroe County (1.9 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (32% of weeks), then May (27%) and Apr (26%). Least in Jul (18%). May to September averages 21%.

18 Jan
19 Feb
21 Mar
26 Apr
27 May
23 Jun
18 Jul
19 Aug
18 Sep
25 Oct
32 Nov
24 Dec

The worst year: 2011

2011: 45 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 22.4% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 11.6% at D2, 3.7% at D3, 15 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 50 weeks, Sep 21, 2010 to Aug 30, 2011.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 16 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 24 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.