Drought in Lafayette County, AR: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (20 wk), 2005 (27 wk), 2006 (48 wk), 2010 (27 wk), 2011 (52 wk), 2012 (28 wk), 2013 (23 wk), 2018 (19 wk) and 2022 (31 wk). Not a single drought week in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009 and 2014.

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 Sep 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 28% of growing-season weeks here were in drought.

Against the rest of AR

16th most drought-prone of 75 AR counties; the AR middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Lawrence County (3.8 in 10) and Sevier County (3.5 in 10). Driest in AR: Lee County (4.6 in 10). Least drought: Clay County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (42% of weeks), then Oct (41%) and Nov (35%). Least in Apr (13%). May to September averages 28%.

27 Jan
21 Feb
19 Mar
13 Apr
17 May
24 Jun
25 Jul
31 Aug
42 Sep
41 Oct
35 Nov
30 Dec

The worst year: 2011

2011: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 27.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 13.6% at D2, 5.3% at D3, 23 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 83 weeks, Jul 20, 2010 to Feb 14, 2012.

Lately

Last drought year: 2022, 31 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 34 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.