Drought in Phillips County, AR: 3.8 years in 10 since 2000

3.8 years in 10

Phillips County, AR: 10 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (35 wk), 2005 (24 wk), 2006 (14 wk), 2007 (15 wk), 2010 (27 wk), 2011 (23 wk), 2012 (23 wk), 2022 (33 wk), 2023 (20 wk) and 2024 (17 wk). Not a single drought week in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

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 Sep peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of AR

7th most drought-prone of 75 AR counties; the AR middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Ashley County (3.8 in 10) and Cleveland County (3.8 in 10). Driest in AR: Lee County (4.6 in 10). Least drought: Clay County (2.3 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Sep (41% of weeks), then Oct (40%) and Aug (38%). Least in May (4%). May to September averages 24%.

25 Jan
19 Feb
15 Mar
7 Apr
4 May
14 Jun
21 Jul
38 Aug
41 Sep
40 Oct
31 Nov
20 Dec

The worst year: 2000

2000: 35 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 23% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 8.9% at D2, 1.9% at D3, 9 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 45 weeks, Dec 30, 2025 to Nov 3, 2026.

Lately

Last drought year: 2024, 17 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 44 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.