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AUSTIN · DROUGHT DATA

Austin Drought Conditions

Every weekly U.S. Drought Monitor reading recorded for Travis County in this window — and what a sustained dry stretch means for foundations, trees and watering around a home.

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Data through Updated: Source: U.S. Drought Monitor

Key findings

  • As of the Sep 15, 2026 map, Travis County was in Severe Drought (D2), covering 35% of the county.
  • 65 of the 65 weekly readings in this window recorded some level of drought — 100% of the period.
  • 55 weeks reached severe drought (D2) or worse.
  • The most severe reading was Extreme Drought (D3) on Jun 2, 2026, covering 49% of the county.

Current category

D2

Weeks in drought

65 of 65

Weeks at D2 or worse

55

Measures: the most severe U.S. Drought Monitor category present in the county each week, with the share of county area at that category or worse. Geography: Travis County. Coverage: 65 weekly readings between August 2025 and September 2026. The Monitor publishes a new map every Thursday.

Recorded records

Weekly U.S. Drought Monitor readings for Travis County, newest first.
Week ofCategoryShare of county at that level or worse
Sep 15, 2026D2 — Severe Drought35%
Sep 15, 2026D2 — Severe Drought56%
Sep 15, 2026D1 — Moderate Drought55%
Sep 8, 2026D2 — Severe Drought35%
Sep 8, 2026D2 — Severe Drought56%
Sep 8, 2026D1 — Moderate Drought50%
Sep 1, 2026D2 — Severe Drought10%
Sep 1, 2026D1 — Moderate Drought92%
Sep 1, 2026D1 — Moderate Drought50%
Aug 25, 2026D2 — Severe Drought10%
Aug 25, 2026D1 — Moderate Drought92%
Aug 25, 2026D1 — Moderate Drought50%
Aug 18, 2026D2 — Severe Drought10%
Aug 11, 2026D2 — Severe Drought10%
Aug 4, 2026D2 — Severe Drought10%
Jul 28, 2026D2 — Severe Drought10%
Jul 21, 2026D2 — Severe Drought10%
Jul 14, 2026D2 — Severe Drought16%
Jul 7, 2026D2 — Severe Drought16%
Jun 30, 2026D2 — Severe Drought16%
Jun 23, 2026D2 — Severe Drought66%
Jun 16, 2026D2 — Severe Drought66%
Jun 9, 2026D2 — Severe Drought66%
Jun 2, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought49%
May 26, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought49%
May 19, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought49%
May 12, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought49%
May 5, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought72%
Apr 28, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought72%
Apr 21, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought77%
Apr 14, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought77%
Apr 7, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought77%
Mar 31, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought77%
Mar 24, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought77%
Mar 17, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought77%
Mar 10, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought77%
Mar 3, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought77%
Feb 24, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought77%
Feb 17, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought71%
Feb 10, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought71%
Feb 3, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought71%
Jan 27, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought71%
Jan 20, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought100%
Jan 13, 2026D3 — Extreme Drought97%
Jan 6, 2026D2 — Severe Drought100%
Dec 30, 2025D2 — Severe Drought96%
Dec 23, 2025D2 — Severe Drought96%
Dec 16, 2025D2 — Severe Drought60%
Dec 9, 2025D2 — Severe Drought60%
Dec 2, 2025D2 — Severe Drought60%
Nov 25, 2025D2 — Severe Drought60%
Nov 18, 2025D2 — Severe Drought60%
Nov 11, 2025D2 — Severe Drought60%
Nov 4, 2025D2 — Severe Drought60%
Oct 28, 2025D2 — Severe Drought60%
Oct 21, 2025D3 — Extreme Drought61%
Oct 14, 2025D3 — Extreme Drought36%
Oct 7, 2025D2 — Severe Drought61%
Sep 30, 2025D2 — Severe Drought61%
Sep 23, 2025D2 — Severe Drought14%
Sep 16, 2025D2 — Severe Drought14%
Sep 9, 2025D1 — Moderate Drought38%
Sep 2, 2025D1 — Moderate Drought23%
Aug 26, 2025D1 — Moderate Drought23%
Aug 19, 2025D1 — Moderate Drought23%

Download all 65 records as CSV

Is Austin in a drought right now?

Yes. The most recent U.S. Drought Monitor map for Travis County, dated Sep 15, 2026, places it in Severe Drought (D2), covering 35% of the county. The Monitor publishes a new map every Thursday, and this page updates from it.

How long has Austin been in drought?

Across the 65 weekly readings between August 2025 and September 2026, Travis County recorded some level of drought in 65 of them. The longest unbroken stretch in this window ran 65 consecutive weeks. This page covers only that window, not the full historical record.

How bad has the drought been in Austin?

The most severe reading in this window was Extreme Drought (D3) on Jun 2, 2026, covering 49% of Travis County. 55 of 65 weeks reached severe drought (D2) or worse. The Monitor's scale runs D0 (abnormally dry) through D4 (exceptional drought).

Can drought damage a house foundation in Texas?

It can, and it is the main reason this page exists. Much of the Austin area sits on expansive clay soils that swell when wet and shrink when dry. Sustained drought pulls moisture out of that soil, it contracts, and the slab above it can move unevenly — which shows up as sticking doors, cracked drywall at door corners, or gaps at trim. This is general guidance about local soil behavior, not a measurement of any specific property.

Should I water my foundation during a drought?

Consistent moisture around a slab is generally better than letting soil dry out and then soaking it, because it is the swing between the two that moves a foundation. A soaker hose set back from the slab edge and run on a regular schedule is the common approach in Central Texas. Check current Austin watering restrictions first — they change with drought stage and they govern what is actually permitted.

THI interpretation

Data: The U.S. Drought Monitor recorded 65 weekly readings for Travis County between August 2025 and September 2026. 65 recorded some level of drought and 55 reached D2 or worse. By category: D2 in 32 weeks, D3 in 23 weeks, D1 in 10 weeks.

THI interpretation: The county is currently in Severe Drought. Sustained dry conditions matter more to a home than any single dry week, because it is prolonged moisture loss that shrinks clay soils and stresses mature trees.

What this may mean for homeowners: Long dry stretches are the cue to keep moisture consistent around a slab rather than alternating between bone-dry and saturated, and to watch mature trees for stress — drought-weakened limbs are a common cause of storm damage later. Watering restrictions tighten as drought stage rises, so check what is currently permitted before setting a schedule.

Limitations: The Drought Monitor is a weekly county-level assessment produced by expert analysis of several indicators, not a direct soil-moisture measurement at any address. A single category for a whole county hides local variation. This page reports the most severe category present in the county each week, so a low percentage at a high category still appears as that category. It does not predict foundation movement, and it is not a substitute for an engineer's assessment of a specific home.

Methodology

Source: U.S. Drought Monitor county statistics (area-percent service) for Travis County, Texas (FIPS-keyed), fetched on each ingestion run. Each weekly map is stored as one observation keyed by county and map date, so republished maps update in place rather than duplicating. The stored reading is the most severe category with a non-zero area share that week, together with that share. Observations are append-only: if a scheduled update fails, the last known-good values are preserved and marked stale with the date they were last confirmed, rather than being shown as zero or blank.

Source: U.S. Drought Monitor. Last confirmed . See our full methodology for how we handle stale data, historical observations, and source attribution across the site.