DroughtOdds

Drought in Cherokee County, AL: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

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

  1. 52
  2. 17
  3. 11
  4. 0
  5. 0
  6. 0
  7. 16
  8. 42
  9. 50
  10. 0
  11. 12
  12. 10
  13. 13
  14. 0
  15. 0
  16. 3
  17. 35
  18. 16
  19. 7
  20. 2
  21. 0
  22. 0
  23. 4
  24. 11
  25. 15
  26. 2

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (52 wk), 2001 (17 wk), 2006 (16 wk), 2007 (42 wk), 2008 (50 wk), 2012 (13 wk), 2016 (35 wk), 2017 (16 wk) and 2024 (15 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2014, 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 AL

32nd most drought-prone of 67 AL counties; the AL middle is 3.5 in 10. Closest on the list: Lowndes County (3.5 in 10) and Autauga County (3.5 in 10). Driest in AL: Chambers County (5.4 in 10). Least drought: Morgan County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (33% of weeks), then Sep (28%) and Jul (28%). Least in Jun (15%). May to September averages 24%.

  1. 26 Jan
  2. 25 Feb
  3. 20 Mar
  4. 17 Apr
  5. 19 May
  6. 15 Jun
  7. 28 Jul
  8. 28 Aug
  9. 28 Sep
  10. 28 Oct
  11. 33 Nov
  12. 21 Dec

The worst year: 2000

2000: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 24.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 13.8% at D2, 7.1% at D3, 62 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 92 weeks, Mar 13, 2007 to Dec 9, 2008.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 15 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 19 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Cherokee County lands on the plan covered in changing to a drought-tolerant grass. Its worst year, 2000, was one of the worst nationally too; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Cherokee County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.