Drought in Shackelford County, TX: 4.6 years in 10 since 2000

4.6 years in 10

Shackelford County, TX: 12 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (33 wk), 2006 (47 wk), 2007 (13 wk), 2009 (39 wk), 2011 (43 wk), 2012 (52 wk), 2013 (53 wk), 2014 (52 wk), 2015 (24 wk), 2019 (15 wk), 2022 (52 wk) and 2023 (21 wk). Not a single drought week in 2002, 2004 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 Feb peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of TX

199th most drought-prone of 254 TX counties; the TX middle is 5.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Jones County (4.6 in 10) and Callahan County (4.6 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 Feb (48% of weeks), then Mar (47%) and Sep (44%). Least in Jun (26%). May to September averages 36%.

40 Jan
48 Feb
47 Mar
37 Apr
37 May
26 Jun
30 Jul
43 Aug
44 Sep
39 Oct
32 Nov
29 Dec

The worst year: 2012

2012: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 37.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 25.8% at D2, 10% at D3, 95 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 221 weeks, Mar 8, 2011 to May 26, 2015.

Lately

Last drought year: 2023, 21 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 5.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 21 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.