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Dry conditions spread over much of Georgia

 

More than half of Georgia counties had abnormally dry conditions, according to the June 18 report from the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than tripling the number of counties with such conditions listed on the June 11 report.

All or parts of at least 88 counties showed at least abnormally dry conditions, one level of intensity below moderate drought on the Drought Monitor scale.

Seven counties – Cherokee, Cobb, Coweta, Douglass, Fayette, Fulton, and Paulding – had areas under moderate drought.

The primary areas of concentration were Metro Atlanta, Middle Georgia and Southeast Georgia.

To view the June 20 Georgia drought map, click here. (https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?GA) A new map will be released the morning of June 27.

The week prior, 25 counties, most around metro Atlanta, had abnormally dry conditions.

The Drought Monitor is mapping authored by meteorologists and climatologists  from the the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the USDA. The maps are drawn based on data about precipitation, stream flow, reservoir levels, temperature, evaporative demand, soil moisture and vegetation health.

In the Climate and Agriculture in the Southeast blog written by Pam Knox with UGA Extension, July through September are forecast to be warmer and wetter.

Precipitation is expected to be above normal in coastal areas that are likely to be affected by tropical systems in what is likely to be an active season, Flash (rapid onset) drought could occur in areas away from the coastal rains where temperatures are hottest in the next few weeks.

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