Drought in Sierra County, NM: 6.9 years in 10 since 2000

6.9 years in 10

Sierra County, NM: 18 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

1. 18
2. 3
3. 48
4. 52
5. 52
6. 28
7. 35
8. 0
9. 16
10. 9
11. 2
12. 52
13. 52
14. 37
15. 49
16. 18
17. 10
18. 0
19. 42
20. 0
21. 24
22. 52
23. 40
24. 22
25. 12
26. 52

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (18 wk), 2002 (48 wk), 2003 (52 wk), 2004 (52 wk), 2005 (28 wk), 2006 (35 wk), 2008 (16 wk), 2011 (52 wk), 2012 (52 wk), 2013 (37 wk), 2014 (49 wk), 2015 (18 wk), 2018 (42 wk), 2020 (24 wk), 2021 (52 wk), 2022 (40 wk), 2023 (22 wk) and 2025 (52 wk). Not a single drought week in 2007, 2017 and 2019.

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

Against the rest of NM

19th most drought-prone of 33 NM counties; the NM middle is 6.9 in 10. Closest on the list: Colfax County (6.9 in 10) and Catron County (6.5 in 10). Driest in NM: Hidalgo County (8.1 in 10). Least drought: San Miguel County (5.4 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Apr (67% of weeks), then May (65%) and Aug (60%). Least in Nov (43%). May to September averages 58%.

1. 55 Jan
2. 51 Feb
3. 57 Mar
4. 67 Apr
5. 65 May
6. 58 Jun
7. 53 Jul
8. 60 Aug
9. 54 Sep
10. 45 Oct
11. 43 Nov
12. 47 Dec

The worst year: 2003

2003: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 54.7% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 35.1% at D2, 11.4% at D3, 77 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 153 weeks, Mar 12, 2002 to Feb 8, 2005.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 52 weeks. 2016-2025: 6 in 10, against 7.5 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 41 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Sierra County lands on the plan covered in shrinking the lawn. Its worst year, 2003, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Sierra County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.