Drought in Washington Parish, LA: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000
1.9 years in 10
Washington Parish, LA: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.
- 49
- 8
- 11
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 24
- 12
- 0
- 11
- 10
- 38
- 7
- 0
- 4
- 9
- 7
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 13
- 21
- 1
- 0
20002025
Drought years: 2000 (49 wk), 2006 (24 wk), 2011 (38 wk), 2022 (13 wk) and 2023 (21 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 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 Nov turns dry.
Against the rest of LA
62nd most drought-prone of 64 LA counties; the LA middle is 2.7 in 10. Closest on the list: Vermilion Parish (1.9 in 10) and Saint Helena Parish (1.9 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 Nov (24% of weeks), then May (23%) and Aug (20%). Least in Mar (11%). May to September averages 19%.
- 14 Jan
- 13 Feb
- 11 Mar
- 15 Apr
- 23 May
- 17 Jun
- 18 Jul
- 20 Aug
- 17 Sep
- 18 Oct
- 24 Nov
- 17 Dec
The worst year: 2000
2000: 49 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 17.3% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 6.1% at D2, 3.4% at D3, 25 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 52 weeks, Jan 25, 2000 to Jan 16, 2001.
Lately
Last drought year: 2023, 21 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 1.9 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 17 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.
Further reading
Washington Parish lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2000, was one of the worst nationally too; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Washington Parish's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.