Drought in Macon County, AL: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

Macon County, AL: 10 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (45 wk), 2002 (31 wk), 2006 (18 wk), 2007 (36 wk), 2008 (36 wk), 2010 (19 wk), 2011 (52 wk), 2012 (52 wk), 2016 (18 wk) and 2025 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2014, 2015, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

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 AL

21st most drought-prone of 67 AL counties; the AL middle is 3.5 in 10. Closest on the list: Shelby County (4.2 in 10) and Coffee County (3.8 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 Nov (36% of weeks), then Oct (35%) and Jan (34%). Least in Jun (23%). May to September averages 28%.

34 Jan
24 Feb
23 Mar
23 Apr
30 May
23 Jun
27 Jul
29 Aug
33 Sep
35 Oct
36 Nov
27 Dec

The worst year: 2011

2011: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 28.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 20.8% at D2, 10.3% at D3, 40 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 131 weeks, Aug 24, 2010 to Feb 19, 2013.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 5 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 22 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.