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

3.5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (35 wk), 2002 (13 wk), 2006 (19 wk), 2007 (40 wk), 2010 (16 wk), 2011 (25 wk), 2023 (13 wk), 2024 (17 wk) and 2025 (17 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

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

39th most drought-prone of 67 AL counties; the AL middle is 3.5 in 10. Closest on the list: Pickens County (3.5 in 10) and Montgomery County (3.1 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 (30% of weeks), then Oct (29%) and Sep (28%). Least in Apr (9%). May to September averages 18%.

18 Jan
9 Feb
12 Mar
9 Apr
16 May
17 Jun
18 Jul
13 Aug
28 Sep
29 Oct
30 Nov
24 Dec

The worst year: 2007

2007: 40 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 18.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 7.6% at D2, 2.6% at D3, 15 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 37 weeks, May 9, 2000 to Jan 16, 2001.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 17 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 30 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.