Drought in Macon County, NC: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (36 wk), 2001 (38 wk), 2002 (28 wk), 2006 (19 wk), 2007 (42 wk), 2008 (53 wk), 2009 (18 wk), 2016 (35 wk) and 2017 (17 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 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 Jul 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 28% of growing-season weeks here were in drought.

Against the rest of NC

16th most drought-prone of 100 NC counties; the NC middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Union County (3.5 in 10) and Jackson County (3.5 in 10). Driest in NC: Cleveland County (5 in 10). Least drought: Gates County (1.5 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Jul (36% of weeks), then Nov (30%) and Mar (30%). Least in Feb (21%). May to September averages 28%.

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

The worst year: 2008

2008: 53 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 27.7% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 16.6% at D2, 8.4% at D3, 40 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 113 weeks, Mar 13, 2007 to May 5, 2009.

Lately

Last drought year: 2017, 17 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 42 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.