Drought in Surry County, NC: 2.3 years in 10 since 2000
2.3 years in 10
Surry County, NC: 6 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.
- 17
- 39
- 46
- 0
- 0
- 1
- 14
- 26
- 50
- 0
- 0
- 3
- 5
- 2
- 0
- 0
- 8
- 11
- 1
- 5
- 0
- 4
- 5
- 8
- 7
- 9
20002025
Drought years: 2000 (17 wk), 2001 (39 wk), 2002 (46 wk), 2006 (14 wk), 2007 (26 wk) and 2008 (50 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2020.
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 Dec, the month drought is most common here. Put beds on drip before the next dry year.
Against the rest of NC
84th most drought-prone of 100 NC counties; the NC middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Forsyth County (2.3 in 10) and Bertie County (2.3 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 Dec (30% of weeks), then Apr (24%) and Nov (24%). Least in Aug (13%). May to September averages 18%.
- 23 Jan
- 19 Feb
- 23 Mar
- 24 Apr
- 21 May
- 20 Jun
- 21 Jul
- 13 Aug
- 17 Sep
- 23 Oct
- 24 Nov
- 30 Dec
The worst year: 2008
2008: 50 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 21.5% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 10% at D2, 2.6% at D3, 19 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 74 weeks, Jul 17, 2007 to Dec 9, 2008.
Lately
Last drought year: 2008, 50 weeks. 2016-2025: 0 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 40 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.
Further reading
Surry County lands on the plan covered in changing to a drought-tolerant grass. Its last ten years ran wetter than the ten before; what that does and does not mean. How each of Surry County's 1,401 weeks was judged: how drought is counted.