The National Drought Monitor released their latest drought map today and severe drought (D2–dark tan on drought map) showed up for the first time in Georgia since March 19, 2013.  Two small areas in south central and southwest Georgia were identified and are well correlated with the lowest departures from normal over the last 90 days.  Rainfall in southern Georgia has been spotty for the last few weeks and the recent warmer temperatures have accelerated the drying.  Will it get worse or will the potential TS Cristobal pass over Georgia and bring conditions back to normal?   Hurricane models are not consistently developing and tracking the potential tropical storm, so scientists are not at all sure if it will develop and where it will go if it does.  Keep an eye out for future forecasts as the tropical wave moves closer to the Southeast.

20140819_southeast_drought monitor90 day departure 8-21-2014

The Drought Monitor can be found at https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/ and is updated every Thursday morning.