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

3.5 years in 10

Fairfield 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 (33 wk), 2001 (43 wk), 2002 (52 wk), 2006 (13 wk), 2007 (28 wk), 2008 (49 wk), 2011 (34 wk), 2012 (36 wk) and 2013 (15 wk). Not a single drought week in 2014, 2020 and 2024.

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 Nov 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 28% of growing-season weeks here were in drought.

Against the rest of SC

28th most drought-prone of 46 SC counties; the SC middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Sumter County (3.8 in 10) and Lexington 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 Nov (46% of weeks), then Dec (37%) and Jun (32%). Least in Aug (24%). May to September averages 28%.

30 Jan
29 Feb
26 Mar
24 Apr
29 May
32 Jun
26 Jul
24 Aug
28 Sep
30 Oct
46 Nov
37 Dec

The worst year: 2002

2002: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 29.9% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 13.7% at D2, 5.2% at D3, 36 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 72 weeks, Jul 24, 2007 to Dec 2, 2008.

Lately

Last drought year: 2013, 15 weeks. 2016-2025: 0 in 10, against 5.6 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 33 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.