Drought in Manatee County, FL: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

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

1. 37
2. 29
3. 0
4. 0
5. 0
6. 0
7. 4
8. 22
9. 32
10. 19
11. 4
12. 12
13. 24
14. 8
15. 0
16. 0
17. 0
18. 18
19. 0
20. 0
21. 6
22. 0
23. 7
24. 42
25. 7
26. 33

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (37 wk), 2001 (29 wk), 2007 (22 wk), 2008 (32 wk), 2009 (19 wk), 2012 (24 wk), 2017 (18 wk), 2023 (42 wk) and 2025 (33 wk). Not a single drought week in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 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 Apr, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of FL

12th most drought-prone of 67 FL counties; the FL middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Glades County (3.5 in 10) and Highlands County (3.5 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 Apr (43% of weeks), then Mar (42%) and May (41%). Least in Sep (11%). May to September averages 21%.

1. 27 Jan
2. 32 Feb
3. 42 Mar
4. 43 Apr
5. 41 May
6. 26 Jun
7. 16 Jul
8. 12 Aug
9. 11 Sep
10. 12 Oct
11. 13 Nov
12. 23 Dec

The worst year: 2023

2023: 42 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 24.8% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 14.4% at D2, 5.9% at D3, 16 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 52 weeks, Nov 4, 2025 to Oct 27, 2026.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 33 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 43 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.

Further reading

Manatee County lands on the plan covered in changing to a drought-tolerant grass. Its worst year, 2023, was one of the worst nationally too; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Manatee County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.