Drought in Lincoln County, NC: 4.2 years in 10 since 2000

4.2 years in 10

Lincoln County, NC: 11 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (26 wk), 2001 (52 wk), 2002 (47 wk), 2006 (18 wk), 2007 (35 wk), 2008 (50 wk), 2010 (15 wk), 2011 (13 wk), 2012 (16 wk), 2015 (15 wk) and 2025 (16 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2014, 2018 and 2020.

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.

Against the rest of NC

5th most drought-prone of 100 NC counties; the NC middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Anson County (4.6 in 10) and Mecklenburg County (4.2 in 10). Driest in NC: Cleveland County (5 in 10). Least drought: Gates County (1.5 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (41% of weeks), then Dec (32%) and Jul (32%). Least in Aug (23%). May to September averages 26%.

28 Jan
25 Feb
27 Mar
30 Apr
25 May
26 Jun
32 Jul
23 Aug
26 Sep
31 Oct
41 Nov
32 Dec

The worst year: 2001

2001: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 28.8% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 14.9% at D2, 7.2% at D3, 47 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 110 weeks, Oct 17, 2000 to Nov 19, 2002.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 16 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 6.3 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 30 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.