Drought in Calhoun County, SC: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (29 wk), 2001 (30 wk), 2002 (45 wk), 2007 (21 wk), 2008 (34 wk), 2011 (40 wk), 2012 (40 wk), 2015 (15 wk) and 2019 (15 wk). Not a single drought week in 2005, 2006, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022 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 Jul 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 26% of growing-season weeks here were in drought.

Against the rest of SC

32nd most drought-prone of 46 SC counties; the SC middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Kershaw County (3.5 in 10) and Chesterfield County (3.5 in 10). Driest in SC: Abbeville County (5.8 in 10). Least drought: Charleston County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Jul (30% of weeks), then Jun (30%) and Sep (28%). Least in Aug (20%). May to September averages 26%.

23 Jan
27 Feb
23 Mar
27 Apr
23 May
30 Jun
30 Jul
20 Aug
28 Sep
28 Oct
24 Nov
21 Dec

The worst year: 2002

2002: 45 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 25.2% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 9.6% at D2, 2.9% at D3, 5 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 57 weeks, Oct 9, 2001 to Nov 5, 2002.

Lately

Last drought year: 2019, 15 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 5 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 32 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.