Drought in Jefferson County, FL: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

Jefferson County, FL: 9 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (52 wk), 2001 (23 wk), 2007 (30 wk), 2011 (52 wk), 2012 (25 wk), 2014 (15 wk), 2015 (21 wk), 2019 (15 wk) and 2025 (17 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2005, 2009, 2021 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 25% of growing-season weeks here were in drought.

Against the rest of FL

10th most drought-prone of 67 FL counties; the FL middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Franklin County (3.8 in 10) and Glades County (3.5 in 10). Driest in FL: Leon County (4.2 in 10). Least drought: Monroe County (1.9 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (32% of weeks), then May (32%) and Feb (31%). Least in Jul (22%). May to September averages 25%.

28 Jan
31 Feb
24 Mar
25 Apr
32 May
26 Jun
22 Jul
23 Aug
25 Sep
28 Oct
32 Nov
24 Dec

The worst year: 2000

2000: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 26.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 11.7% at D2, 5.6% at D3, 30 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 86 weeks, Nov 2, 2010 to Jun 19, 2012.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 17 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 37 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.