DroughtOdds

Drought in Marion County, SC: 3.1 years in 10 since 2000

3.1 years in 10

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

  1. 3
  2. 16
  3. 36
  4. 0
  5. 0
  6. 0
  7. 0
  8. 24
  9. 20
  10. 9
  11. 1
  12. 27
  13. 19
  14. 2
  15. 0
  16. 12
  17. 0
  18. 0
  19. 3
  20. 6
  21. 0
  22. 12
  23. 27
  24. 6
  25. 12
  26. 15

20002025

Drought years: 2001 (16 wk), 2002 (36 wk), 2007 (24 wk), 2008 (20 wk), 2011 (27 wk), 2012 (19 wk), 2022 (27 wk) and 2025 (15 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2020.

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 SC

41st most drought-prone of 46 SC counties; the SC middle is 3.8 in 10. Closest on the list: Beaufort County (3.1 in 10) and Clarendon County (3.1 in 10). Driest in SC: Abbeville County (5.8 in 10). Least drought: Charleston County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Jan (26% of weeks), then Feb (25%) and Jun (24%). Least in Oct (18%). May to September averages 21%.

  1. 26 Jan
  2. 25 Feb
  3. 20 Mar
  4. 18 Apr
  5. 20 May
  6. 24 Jun
  7. 23 Jul
  8. 21 Aug
  9. 18 Sep
  10. 18 Oct
  11. 21 Nov
  12. 19 Dec

The worst year: 2002

2002: 36 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 20.9% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 8.3% at D2, 3.6% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 45 weeks, Oct 23, 2001 to Aug 27, 2002.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 15 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 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

Marion County lands on the plan covered in changing to a drought-tolerant grass. Its worst year, 2002, was not one of the big national drought years; see the worst years since 2000. How each of Marion County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.