Drought in Baxter County, AR: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (18 wk), 2005 (22 wk), 2006 (16 wk), 2011 (31 wk), 2012 (31 wk), 2017 (28 wk), 2018 (13 wk), 2022 (23 wk) and 2025 (19 wk). Not a single drought week in 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Keep a lawn, but switch to drought-tolerant grass

Dry years come often enough to kill a thirsty lawn every few summers. Keep the lawn, reseed with a drought-tolerant mix, and put the beds on drip.

If you reseed, use a drought-tolerant mix and do it well clear of Oct, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of AR

33rd most drought-prone of 75 AR counties; the AR middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Searcy County (3.5 in 10) and Stone County (3.5 in 10). Driest in AR: Lee County (4.6 in 10). Least drought: Clay County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (31% of weeks), then Sep (26%) and Aug (24%). Least in May (12%). May to September averages 18%.

23 Jan
19 Feb
16 Mar
16 Apr
12 May
12 Jun
15 Jul
24 Aug
26 Sep
31 Oct
21 Nov
15 Dec

The worst year: 2012

2012: 31 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 19.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 8.3% at D2, 4.3% at D3, 21 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 44 weeks, Aug 26, 2025 to Jun 23, 2026.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 19 weeks. 2016-2025: 4 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 31 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.