DroughtOdds

Drought in Union Parish, LA: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

Union Parish, LA: 9 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

  1. 26
  2. 0
  3. 0
  4. 0
  5. 0
  6. 11
  7. 16
  8. 1
  9. 0
  10. 0
  11. 34
  12. 52
  13. 17
  14. 12
  15. 0
  16. 12
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 15
  20. 5
  21. 0
  22. 5
  23. 27
  24. 16
  25. 24
  26. 0

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (26 wk), 2006 (16 wk), 2010 (34 wk), 2011 (52 wk), 2012 (17 wk), 2018 (15 wk), 2022 (27 wk), 2023 (16 wk) and 2024 (24 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2020 and 2025.

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 Oct, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of LA

7th most drought-prone of 64 LA counties; the LA middle is 2.7 in 10. Closest on the list: Claiborne Parish (3.8 in 10) and Morehouse Parish (3.5 in 10). Driest in LA: Caddo Parish (4.6 in 10). Least drought: East Feliciana Parish (1.9 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (39% of weeks), then Sep (38%) and Nov (36%). Least in May (10%). May to September averages 21%.

  1. 30 Jan
  2. 17 Feb
  3. 16 Mar
  4. 11 Apr
  5. 10 May
  6. 12 Jun
  7. 18 Jul
  8. 28 Aug
  9. 38 Sep
  10. 39 Oct
  11. 36 Nov
  12. 31 Dec

The worst year: 2011

2011: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 23.8% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 13.5% at D2, 5.4% at D3, 13 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 88 weeks, May 11, 2010 to Jan 10, 2012.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 24 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 37 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Union Parish lands on the plan covered in changing to a drought-tolerant grass. Its worst year, 2011, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Union Parish's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.