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

3.5 years in 10

Mitchell 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 (29 wk), 2001 (34 wk), 2002 (34 wk), 2007 (42 wk), 2008 (53 wk), 2009 (18 wk), 2010 (15 wk), 2016 (20 wk) and 2025 (15 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

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 Nov, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.

Against the rest of NC

34th most drought-prone of 100 NC counties; the NC middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Alamance County (3.5 in 10) and Person 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 Nov (29% of weeks), then Mar (28%) and Jan (27%). Least in Sep (16%). May to September averages 19%.

27 Jan
21 Feb
28 Mar
27 Apr
19 May
21 Jun
23 Jul
16 Aug
16 Sep
25 Oct
29 Nov
24 Dec

The worst year: 2008

2008: 53 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 22.8% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 11.5% at D2, 6.1% at D3, 27 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 113 weeks, Mar 13, 2007 to May 5, 2009.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 15 weeks. 2016-2025: 2 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 31 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.