Drought in Lumpkin County, GA: 3.1 years in 10 since 2000

3.1 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (52 wk), 2001 (34 wk), 2002 (33 wk), 2007 (39 wk), 2008 (53 wk), 2009 (18 wk), 2016 (36 wk) and 2017 (22 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2020 and 2021.

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 27% of growing-season weeks here were in drought.

Against the rest of GA

153rd most drought-prone of 159 GA counties; the GA middle is 4.2 in 10. Closest on the list: Glynn County (3.5 in 10) and Pickens County (3.1 in 10). Driest in GA: Berrien County (5.8 in 10). Least drought: Gilmer County (2.7 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (36% of weeks), then Jan (30%) and May (30%). Least in Feb (24%). May to September averages 27%.

30 Jan
24 Feb
24 Mar
28 Apr
30 May
26 Jun
30 Jul
24 Aug
24 Sep
30 Oct
36 Nov
30 Dec

The worst year: 2008

2008: 53 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 28% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 18.3% at D2, 9.9% at D3, 46 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 110 weeks, Apr 3, 2007 to May 5, 2009.

Lately

Last drought year: 2017, 22 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 34 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.