Drought in Washington County, VA: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000

1.9 years in 10

Washington County, VA: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (24 wk), 2001 (33 wk), 2002 (26 wk), 2007 (40 wk) and 2008 (53 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2025.

A regular lawn is fine here; plan for the odd dry year

Real droughts are rare here. A smart controller that skips watering after rain covers the odd dry year.

You can keep a regular lawn. Worth doing: a rain-sensing or smart controller, and deeper, less frequent watering if Mar turns dry.

Against the rest of VA

74th most drought-prone of 133 VA counties; the VA middle is 1.9 in 10. Closest on the list: Loudoun County (1.9 in 10) and Lynchburg City (1.9 in 10). Driest in VA: Halifax County (3.1 in 10). Least drought: Covington City (1.2 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Mar (24% of weeks), then Nov (23%) and Dec (22%). Least in Aug (9%). May to September averages 14%.

19 Jan
16 Feb
24 Mar
16 Apr
13 May
17 Jun
16 Jul
9 Aug
14 Sep
17 Oct
23 Nov
22 Dec

The worst year: 2008

2008: 53 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 17% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 7% at D2, 2.4% at D3, 15 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 87 weeks, May 15, 2007 to Jan 6, 2009.

Lately

Last drought year: 2008, 53 weeks. 2016-2025: 0 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 18 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.