Drought in Hancock County, TN: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000

1.9 years in 10

Hancock County, TN: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (25 wk), 2001 (30 wk), 2002 (16 wk), 2007 (44 wk) and 2008 (44 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2025.

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 TN

67th most drought-prone of 95 TN counties; the TN middle is 2.3 in 10. Closest on the list: Claiborne County (1.9 in 10) and Madison County (1.9 in 10). Driest in TN: Bradley County (3.8 in 10). Least drought: Robertson County (1.2 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (30% of weeks), then Oct (22%) and Dec (22%). Least in Apr (6%). May to September averages 13%.

19 Jan
15 Feb
14 Mar
6 Apr
12 May
19 Jun
13 Jul
9 Aug
11 Sep
22 Oct
30 Nov
22 Dec

The worst year: 2007

2007: 44 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 15.9% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 6.5% at D2, 2.9% at D3, 16 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 49 weeks, May 1, 2007 to Apr 1, 2008.

Lately

Last drought year: 2008, 44 weeks. 2016-2025: 0 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 13 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.