DroughtOdds

Drought in Lincoln County, OK: 3.1 years in 10 since 2000

3.1 years in 10

Lincoln County, OK: 8 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

  1. 6
  2. 5
  3. 0
  4. 6
  5. 0
  6. 8
  7. 52
  8. 7
  9. 2
  10. 5
  11. 10
  12. 47
  13. 36
  14. 16
  15. 28
  16. 0
  17. 6
  18. 17
  19. 9
  20. 0
  21. 2
  22. 4
  23. 42
  24. 12
  25. 15
  26. 3

20002025

Drought years: 2006 (52 wk), 2011 (47 wk), 2012 (36 wk), 2013 (16 wk), 2014 (28 wk), 2017 (17 wk), 2022 (42 wk) and 2024 (15 wk). Not a single drought week in 2002, 2004, 2015 and 2019.

Keep a lawn, but switch to drought-tolerant grass

Dry years come often enough to kill a thirsty lawn every few summers. Keep the lawn, reseed with a drought-tolerant mix, and put the beds on drip.

If you reseed, use a drought-tolerant mix and do it well clear of Jan, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of OK

63rd most drought-prone of 77 OK counties; the OK middle is 4.6 in 10. Closest on the list: Seminole County (3.1 in 10) and Creek County (3.1 in 10). Driest in OK: Cimarron County (6.9 in 10). Least drought: McIntosh County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Jan (38% of weeks), then Feb (36%) and Aug (32%). Least in May (17%). May to September averages 24%.

  1. 38 Jan
  2. 36 Feb
  3. 29 Mar
  4. 22 Apr
  5. 17 May
  6. 18 Jun
  7. 24 Jul
  8. 32 Aug
  9. 28 Sep
  10. 31 Oct
  11. 26 Nov
  12. 26 Dec

The worst year: 2006

2006: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 27.3% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 14.9% at D2, 5.7% at D3, 43 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 57 weeks, Dec 13, 2005 to Jan 9, 2007.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 15 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 44 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Lincoln County lands on the plan covered in changing to a drought-tolerant grass. Its worst year, 2006, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Lincoln County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.