Drought in Fulton County, KY: 2.3 years in 10 since 2000

2.3 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (15 wk), 2001 (20 wk), 2007 (17 wk), 2010 (23 wk), 2012 (31 wk) and 2022 (18 wk). Not a single drought week in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 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 Oct, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of KY

2nd most drought-prone of 120 KY counties; the KY middle is 1.2 in 10. Closest on the list: Calloway County (2.3 in 10) and Graves County (2.3 in 10). Driest in KY: Calloway County (2.3 in 10). Least drought: Grant County (0.4 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (25% of weeks), then Sep (21%) and Jul (19%). Least in Mar (5%). May to September averages 17%.

14 Jan
12 Feb
5 Mar
5 Apr
12 May
17 Jun
19 Jul
17 Aug
21 Sep
25 Oct
19 Nov
10 Dec

The worst year: 2012

2012: 31 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 14.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 7.3% at D2, 3.2% at D3, 7 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 32 weeks, Jul 27, 2010 to Mar 1, 2011.

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: 25 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.