Drought in Van Zandt County, TX: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

Van Zandt County, TX: 10 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

1. 22
2. 3
3. 0
4. 6
5. 0
6. 29
7. 50
8. 3
9. 1
10. 1
11. 5
12. 52
13. 16
14. 35
15. 25
16. 5
17. 5
18. 4
19. 13
20. 5
21. 10
22. 12
23. 43
24. 10
25. 17
26. 1

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (22 wk), 2005 (29 wk), 2006 (50 wk), 2011 (52 wk), 2012 (16 wk), 2013 (35 wk), 2014 (25 wk), 2018 (13 wk), 2022 (43 wk) and 2024 (17 wk). Not a single drought week in 2002 and 2004.

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

Against the rest of TX

229th most drought-prone of 254 TX counties; the TX middle is 5.8 in 10. Closest on the list: San Jacinto County (4.2 in 10) and Upshur County (3.8 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 Sep (38% of weeks), then Oct (37%) and Aug (35%). Least in Apr (20%). May to September averages 31%.

1. 30 Jan
2. 27 Feb
3. 24 Mar
4. 20 Apr
5. 23 May
6. 30 Jun
7. 28 Jul
8. 35 Aug
9. 38 Sep
10. 37 Oct
11. 28 Nov
12. 35 Dec

The worst year: 2011

2011: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 29.4% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 13.6% at D2, 5.4% at D3, 37 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 66 weeks, Dec 7, 2010 to Mar 6, 2012.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 17 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 39 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Van Zandt County lands on the plan covered in shrinking the lawn. Its worst year, 2011, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Van Zandt County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.