Drought in Lawrence County, TN: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000
1.9 years in 10
Lawrence County, TN: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.
- 38
- 7
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 2
- 8
- 42
- 14
- 0
- 6
- 3
- 8
- 0
- 3
- 0
- 22
- 0
- 0
- 2
- 0
- 0
- 9
- 12
- 38
- 9
20002025
Drought years: 2000 (38 wk), 2007 (42 wk), 2008 (14 wk), 2016 (22 wk) and 2024 (38 wk). Not a single drought week in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021.
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
61st most drought-prone of 95 TN counties; the TN middle is 2.3 in 10. Closest on the list: Rutherford County (1.9 in 10) and Haywood 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 (24%) and Jan (22%). Least in Apr (8%). May to September averages 14%.
- 22 Jan
- 17 Feb
- 19 Mar
- 8 Apr
- 13 May
- 10 Jun
- 18 Jul
- 14 Aug
- 17 Sep
- 24 Oct
- 30 Nov
- 21 Dec
The worst year: 2007
2007: 42 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 17.7% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 8% at D2, 3.2% at D3, 16 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 56 weeks, Mar 13, 2007 to Apr 1, 2008.
Lately
Last drought year: 2024, 38 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 1.9 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 25 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.
Further reading
Lawrence County lands on the plan covered in keeping a regular lawn. Its worst year, 2007, was one of the worst nationally too; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Lawrence County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.