Drought in Charleston County, SC: 2.3 years in 10 since 2000

2.3 years in 10

Charleston County, SC: 6 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (17 wk), 2002 (35 wk), 2007 (22 wk), 2011 (30 wk), 2012 (28 wk) and 2022 (18 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 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 May, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of SC

46th most drought-prone of 46 SC counties; the SC middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Georgetown County (2.7 in 10). Driest in SC: Abbeville County (5.8 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in May (30% of weeks), then Jun (30%) and Apr (29%). Least in Sep (9%). May to September averages 21%.

18 Jan
16 Feb
23 Mar
29 Apr
30 May
30 Jun
20 Jul
14 Aug
9 Sep
10 Oct
18 Nov
14 Dec

The worst year: 2002

2002: 35 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 19.2% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 7.6% at D2, 4.3% at D3, 3 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 53 weeks, Jun 7, 2011 to Jun 5, 2012.

Lately

Last drought year: 2022, 18 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 38 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.