Drought in Russell County, VA: 1.9 years in 10 since 2000

1.9 years in 10

Russell County, VA: 5 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. Less drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (25 wk), 2001 (28 wk), 2002 (24 wk), 2007 (39 wk) and 2008 (47 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2025.

A regular lawn is fine here; plan for the odd dry year

Real droughts are rare here. A smart controller that skips watering after rain covers the odd dry year.

You can keep a regular lawn. Worth doing: a rain-sensing or smart controller, and deeper, less frequent watering if Nov turns dry.

Against the rest of VA

78th most drought-prone of 133 VA counties; the VA middle is 1.9 in 10. Closest on the list: Greensville County (1.9 in 10) and Emporia City (1.9 in 10). Driest in VA: Halifax County (3.1 in 10). Least drought: Covington City (1.2 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (23% of weeks), then Dec (22%) and Jan (21%). Least in May (8%). May to September averages 12%.

21 Jan
16 Feb
19 Mar
15 Apr
8 May
13 Jun
14 Jul
9 Aug
15 Sep
19 Oct
23 Nov
22 Dec

The worst year: 2008

2008: 47 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 16.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 5.7% at D2, 1.7% at D3, 15 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 49 weeks, May 22, 2007 to Apr 22, 2008.

Lately

Last drought year: 2008, 47 weeks. 2016-2025: 0 in 10, against 3.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 18 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.