Drought in Yakima County, WA: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

Yakima County, WA: 9 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (46 wk), 2005 (48 wk), 2014 (39 wk), 2015 (50 wk), 2018 (19 wk), 2020 (44 wk), 2021 (35 wk), 2022 (20 wk) and 2025 (25 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2023.

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

This is one step drier than the yearly count alone suggests, because 29% of growing-season weeks here were in drought.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (5 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (2.5 in 10).

Against the rest of WA

19th most drought-prone of 39 WA counties; the WA middle is 3.5 in 10. Closest on the list: Kittitas County (3.5 in 10) and Stevens County (3.5 in 10). Driest in WA: Grant County (5 in 10). Least drought: Jefferson County (1.5 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Aug (38% of weeks), then Sep (35%) and Jul (31%). Least in Jan (13%). May to September averages 29%.

13 Jan
21 Feb
23 Mar
17 Apr
21 May
21 Jun
31 Jul
38 Aug
35 Sep
29 Oct
27 Nov
25 Dec

The worst year: 2015

2015: 50 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 25.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 10.5% at D2, 2.1% at D3, 18 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 78 weeks, Jun 24, 2014 to Dec 15, 2015.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 25 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 2.5 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 10 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.