Drought in Lowndes County, AL: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (37 wk), 2002 (15 wk), 2006 (18 wk), 2007 (40 wk), 2008 (34 wk), 2011 (50 wk), 2012 (30 wk), 2024 (17 wk) and 2025 (14 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2015 and 2020.

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.

Against the rest of AL

31st most drought-prone of 67 AL counties; the AL middle is 3.5 in 10. Closest on the list: Pike County (3.5 in 10) and Cherokee County (3.5 in 10). Driest in AL: Chambers County (5.4 in 10). Least drought: Morgan County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (36% of weeks), then Nov (33%) and Jan (30%). Least in Apr (15%). May to September averages 24%.

30 Jan
20 Feb
18 Mar
15 Apr
25 May
22 Jun
27 Jul
20 Aug
24 Sep
36 Oct
33 Nov
28 Dec

The worst year: 2011

2011: 50 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 24.8% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 10.4% at D2, 5.1% at D3, 40 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 74 weeks, Mar 27, 2007 to Aug 19, 2008.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 14 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 26 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.