Drought in Marion County, TN: 2.3 years in 10 since 2000

2.3 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (42 wk), 2007 (46 wk), 2008 (50 wk), 2016 (35 wk), 2023 (14 wk) and 2024 (29 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2020 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 Oct, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of TN

36th most drought-prone of 95 TN counties; the TN middle is 2.3 in 10. Closest on the list: Benton County (2.7 in 10) and Blount County (2.3 in 10). Driest in TN: Bradley County (3.8 in 10). Least drought: Robertson County (1.2 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Oct (34% of weeks), then Nov (34%) and Jan (30%). Least in Apr (11%). May to September averages 23%.

30 Jan
27 Feb
19 Mar
11 Apr
23 May
17 Jun
23 Jul
23 Aug
29 Sep
34 Oct
34 Nov
24 Dec

The worst year: 2008

2008: 50 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 24.4% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 12.5% at D2, 5.4% at D3, 54 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 96 weeks, Feb 13, 2007 to Dec 9, 2008.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 29 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 1.9 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 30 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.