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

3.8 years in 10

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

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (25 wk), 2001 (23 wk), 2005 (22 wk), 2006 (23 wk), 2010 (18 wk), 2011 (33 wk), 2012 (24 wk), 2022 (21 wk), 2023 (15 wk) and 2025 (15 wk). Not a single drought week in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2013, 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 Nov peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of AR

9th most drought-prone of 75 AR counties; the AR middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Cleveland County (3.8 in 10) and Jefferson 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 Nov (39% of weeks), then Sep (35%) and Oct (33%). Least in May (11%). May to September averages 21%.

19 Jan
14 Feb
11 Mar
12 Apr
11 May
12 Jun
16 Jul
32 Aug
35 Sep
33 Oct
39 Nov
31 Dec

The worst year: 2011

2011: 33 weeks in drought, peaking at D2 severe. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 22.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 9.4% at D2, 2.5% at D3, 29 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 36 weeks, Nov 4, 2025 to Jul 7, 2026.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 15 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 39 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.