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

3.5 years in 10

Hale 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 (37 wk), 2006 (16 wk), 2007 (42 wk), 2008 (33 wk), 2016 (14 wk), 2017 (13 wk), 2023 (13 wk), 2024 (23 wk) and 2025 (23 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2019, 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.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (5 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (2.5 in 10).

Against the rest of AL

36th most drought-prone of 67 AL counties; the AL middle is 3.5 in 10. Closest on the list: Monroe County (3.5 in 10) and Greene 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 Oct (37% of weeks), then Nov (28%) and Jan (28%). Least in Apr (11%). May to September averages 18%.

28 Jan
13 Feb
15 Mar
11 Apr
14 May
13 Jun
19 Jul
19 Aug
23 Sep
37 Oct
28 Nov
24 Dec

The worst year: 2007

2007: 42 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 20.4% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 10.8% at D2, 4.8% at D3, 52 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 67 weeks, Mar 13, 2007 to Jun 17, 2008.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 23 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 2.5 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 27 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.