Drought in Hancock County, MS: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000
1.9 years in 10
Hancock County, MS: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.
- 43
- 8
- 11
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 25
- 2
- 0
- 10
- 7
- 44
- 12
- 0
- 8
- 10
- 7
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 9
- 0
- 13
- 19
- 0
- 7
20002025
Drought years: 2000 (43 wk), 2006 (25 wk), 2011 (44 wk), 2022 (13 wk) and 2023 (19 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2024.
A regular lawn is fine here; plan for the odd dry year
Real droughts are rare here. A smart controller that skips watering after rain covers the odd dry year.
You can keep a regular lawn. Worth doing: a rain-sensing or smart controller, and deeper, less frequent watering if Nov turns dry.
Against the rest of MS
73rd most drought-prone of 82 MS counties; the MS middle is 2.7 in 10. Closest on the list: Harrison County (1.9 in 10) and Stone County (1.9 in 10). Driest in MS: Tallahatchie County (4.2 in 10). Least drought: Benton County (1.5 in 10).
When in the year it hits
Most often in Nov (28% of weeks), then Mar (25%) and May (24%). Least in Sep (10%). May to September averages 16%.
- 13 Jan
- 11 Feb
- 25 Mar
- 22 Apr
- 24 May
- 16 Jun
- 13 Jul
- 19 Aug
- 10 Sep
- 16 Oct
- 28 Nov
- 18 Dec
The worst year: 2011
2011: 44 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 18% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 7.4% at D2, 4.5% at D3, 28 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 46 weeks, Mar 7, 2000 to Jan 16, 2001.
Lately
Last drought year: 2023, 19 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 1.9 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 17 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.
Further reading
Hancock County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2011, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Hancock County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.