Drought in Lexington County, SC: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (38 wk), 2001 (33 wk), 2002 (48 wk), 2007 (21 wk), 2008 (40 wk), 2010 (15 wk), 2011 (38 wk), 2012 (43 wk) and 2019 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2014, 2018, 2020 and 2023.

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

Against the rest of SC

29th most drought-prone of 46 SC counties; the SC middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Fairfield County (3.5 in 10) and Jasper County (3.5 in 10). Driest in SC: Abbeville County (5.8 in 10). Least drought: Charleston County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (36% of weeks), then Oct (35%) and Dec (31%). Least in Apr (21%). May to September averages 28%.

26 Jan
25 Feb
23 Mar
21 Apr
27 May
25 Jun
29 Jul
26 Aug
30 Sep
35 Oct
36 Nov
31 Dec

The worst year: 2002

2002: 48 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 27.8% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 14.2% at D2, 4.8% at D3, 9 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 61 weeks, Jul 5, 2011 to Aug 28, 2012.

Lately

Last drought year: 2019, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 5 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 32 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.