Drought in Benton County, TN: 2.7 years in 10 since 2000

2.7 years in 10

Benton County, TN: 7 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (35 wk), 2001 (16 wk), 2007 (24 wk), 2012 (19 wk), 2022 (16 wk), 2023 (14 wk) and 2024 (17 wk). Not a single drought week in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 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 Nov, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of TN

35th most drought-prone of 95 TN counties; the TN middle is 2.3 in 10. Closest on the list: Obion County (2.7 in 10) and Marion County (2.3 in 10). Driest in TN: Bradley County (3.8 in 10). Least drought: Robertson County (1.2 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (23% of weeks), then Sep (22%) and Oct (19%). Least in Apr (3%). May to September averages 15%.

18 Jan
17 Feb
9 Mar
3 Apr
11 May
13 Jun
17 Jul
14 Aug
22 Sep
19 Oct
23 Nov
15 Dec

The worst year: 2000

2000: 35 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 15.2% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 6.5% at D2, 1.6% at D3, 5 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 31 weeks, Jul 18, 2000 to Feb 13, 2001.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 17 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 2.5 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 27 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.