Drought in Yadkin County, NC: 2.7 years in 10 since 2000

2.7 years in 10

Yadkin County, NC: 7 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (19 wk), 2001 (39 wk), 2002 (46 wk), 2006 (19 wk), 2007 (33 wk), 2008 (50 wk) and 2015 (14 wk). Not a single drought week in 2003, 2004, 2010, 2014 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

59th most drought-prone of 100 NC counties; the NC middle is 3.1 in 10. Closest on the list: Nash County (3.1 in 10) and Wilkes County (2.7 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 Jan (29%) and Jul (28%). Least in Aug (19%). May to September averages 23%.

29 Jan
25 Feb
25 Mar
24 Apr
22 May
26 Jun
28 Jul
19 Aug
20 Sep
24 Oct
25 Nov
30 Dec

The worst year: 2008

2008: 50 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 24.8% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 13.7% at D2, 4.8% at D3, 20 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 83 weeks, May 15, 2007 to Dec 9, 2008.

Lately

Last drought year: 2015, 14 weeks. 2016-2025: 0 in 10, against 4.4 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 41 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.