Drought in Clay County, FL: 3.1 years in 10 since 2000
3.1 years in 10
Clay County, FL: 8 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.
- 41
- 31
- 5
- 0
- 1
- 0
- 15
- 35
- 2
- 1
- 15
- 40
- 24
- 9
- 0
- 6
- 0
- 7
- 0
- 2
- 3
- 0
- 0
- 3
- 10
- 13
20002025
Drought years: 2000 (41 wk), 2001 (31 wk), 2006 (15 wk), 2007 (35 wk), 2010 (15 wk), 2011 (40 wk), 2012 (24 wk) and 2025 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2005, 2014, 2016, 2018, 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 Jun, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.
Against the rest of FL
37th most drought-prone of 67 FL counties; the FL middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Baker County (3.1 in 10) and Levy County (3.1 in 10). Driest in FL: Leon County (4.2 in 10). Least drought: Monroe County (1.9 in 10).
When in the year it hits
Most often in Jun (31% of weeks), then May (31%) and Mar (29%). Least in Oct (9%). May to September averages 23%.
- 24 Jan
- 25 Feb
- 29 Mar
- 28 Apr
- 31 May
- 31 Jun
- 23 Jul
- 18 Aug
- 11 Sep
- 9 Oct
- 13 Nov
- 17 Dec
The worst year: 2000
2000: 41 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 21.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 12.9% at D2, 5.6% at D3, 10 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 55 weeks, Sep 21, 2010 to Oct 4, 2011.
Lately
Last drought year: 2025, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 40 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.
Further reading
Clay County lands on the plan covered in changing to a drought-tolerant grass. Its last ten years ran wetter than the ten before; what that does and does not mean. How each of Clay County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.