Drought in Lincoln County, TN: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (42 wk), 2007 (46 wk), 2008 (41 wk), 2012 (13 wk), 2016 (24 wk), 2022 (13 wk), 2023 (15 wk), 2024 (33 wk) and 2025 (14 wk). Not a single drought week in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2020 and 2021.

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 Oct, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Drought has been more common in 2016-2025 (5 years in 10) than in 2000-2015 (2.5 in 10).

Against the rest of TN

6th most drought-prone of 95 TN counties; the TN middle is 2.3 in 10. Closest on the list: Meigs County (3.5 in 10) and Monroe County (3.1 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 Oct (31% of weeks), then Nov (30%) and Jul (26%). Least in Apr (11%). May to September averages 21%.

25 Jan
19 Feb
18 Mar
11 Apr
18 May
19 Jun
26 Jul
20 Aug
22 Sep
31 Oct
30 Nov
22 Dec

The worst year: 2007

2007: 46 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 21.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 11.4% at D2, 5.8% at D3, 46 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 87 weeks, Feb 13, 2007 to Oct 7, 2008.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 14 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 2.5 in 10 for 2000-2015, drier lately. So far in 2026: 24 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.