Drought in Montgomery County, AL: 3.1 years in 10 since 2000

3.1 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (42 wk), 2002 (24 wk), 2006 (18 wk), 2007 (39 wk), 2008 (34 wk), 2010 (16 wk), 2011 (52 wk) and 2012 (45 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2015, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Plan for drought as normal: shrink the lawn, go drip and natives

Drought is the normal state of things here. Most of the yard goes to natives and gravel on drip; any grass that stays is a small, tough patch.

If you are replacing turf, plant natives in fall so roots set before the Nov peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

This is one step drier than the yearly count alone suggests, because 26% of growing-season weeks here were in drought.

Against the rest of AL

40th most drought-prone of 67 AL counties; the AL middle is 3.5 in 10. Closest on the list: Clarke County (3.5 in 10) and Limestone County (3.1 in 10). Driest in AL: Chambers County (5.4 in 10). Least drought: Morgan County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (35% of weeks), then Oct (33%) and Jan (30%). Least in Feb (22%). May to September averages 26%.

30 Jan
22 Feb
23 Mar
22 Apr
29 May
24 Jun
27 Jul
25 Aug
23 Sep
33 Oct
35 Nov
29 Dec

The worst year: 2011

2011: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 26.8% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 16.6% at D2, 6.6% at D3, 42 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 103 weeks, Sep 14, 2010 to Aug 28, 2012.

Lately

Last drought year: 2012, 45 weeks. 2016-2025: 0 in 10, against 5 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 24 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.