DroughtOdds

Drought in Madison County, FL: 2.3 years in 10 since 2000

2.3 years in 10

Madison County, FL: 6 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

  1. 52
  2. 23
  3. 11
  4. 0
  5. 2
  6. 0
  7. 11
  8. 32
  9. 2
  10. 1
  11. 9
  12. 52
  13. 25
  14. 6
  15. 3
  16. 0
  17. 2
  18. 7
  19. 8
  20. 12
  21. 2
  22. 0
  23. 10
  24. 6
  25. 2
  26. 18

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (52 wk), 2001 (23 wk), 2007 (32 wk), 2011 (52 wk), 2012 (25 wk) and 2025 (18 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2005, 2015 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 Jan, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of FL

62nd most drought-prone of 67 FL counties; the FL middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Saint Lucie County (2.7 in 10) and Taylor County (2.3 in 10). Driest in FL: Leon County (4.2 in 10). Least drought: Monroe County (1.9 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Jan (33% of weeks), then May (33%) and Jun (25%). Least in Aug (17%). May to September averages 22%.

  1. 33 Jan
  2. 23 Feb
  3. 23 Mar
  4. 24 Apr
  5. 33 May
  6. 25 Jun
  7. 18 Jul
  8. 17 Aug
  9. 17 Sep
  10. 22 Oct
  11. 25 Nov
  12. 24 Dec

The worst year: 2000

2000: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 23.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 10.9% at D2, 4.1% at D3, 28 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 86 weeks, Nov 2, 2010 to Jun 19, 2012.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 18 weeks. 2016-2025: 1 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 35 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Madison County lands on the plan covered in changing to a drought-tolerant grass. Its last ten years ran wetter than the ten before; what that does and does not mean. How each of Madison County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.