Drought in Uvalde County, TX: 7.7 years in 10 since 2000
7.7 years in 10
Uvalde County, TX: 20 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.
- 44
- 9
- 12
- 7
- 0
- 19
- 52
- 13
- 52
- 52
- 15
- 52
- 50
- 53
- 52
- 13
- 0
- 1
- 33
- 29
- 41
- 18
- 51
- 52
- 53
- 50
20002025
Drought years: 2000 (44 wk), 2005 (19 wk), 2006 (52 wk), 2007 (13 wk), 2008 (52 wk), 2009 (52 wk), 2010 (15 wk), 2011 (52 wk), 2012 (50 wk), 2013 (53 wk), 2014 (52 wk), 2015 (13 wk), 2018 (33 wk), 2019 (29 wk), 2020 (41 wk), 2021 (18 wk), 2022 (51 wk), 2023 (52 wk), 2024 (53 wk) and 2025 (50 wk). Not a single drought week in 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 Mar peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.
Against the rest of TX
1st most drought-prone of 254 TX counties; the TX middle is 5.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Zavala County (7.7 in 10). Least drought: Jasper County (2.3 in 10).
When in the year it hits
Most often in Mar (70% of weeks), then Feb (68%) and Jan (66%). Least in Jun (54%). May to September averages 57%.
- 66 Jan
- 68 Feb
- 70 Mar
- 59 Apr
- 55 May
- 54 Jun
- 59 Jul
- 59 Aug
- 56 Sep
- 61 Oct
- 57 Nov
- 59 Dec
The worst year: 2006
2006: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 60.2% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 36.7% at D2, 19.3% at D3, 185 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 198 weeks, Jan 11, 2022 to Oct 21, 2025.
Lately
Last drought year: 2025, 50 weeks. 2016-2025: 8 in 10, against 7.5 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 20 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.
Further reading
Uvalde County lands on the plan covered in shrinking the lawn. Its worst year, 2006, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Uvalde County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.