For the first time since January 2016, most of the state was below normal in temperature, although a few areas remained warmer than normal.  Most of the northern half of the state was also very wet, but the south also received enough rain to eliminate the drought by the end of the month.

In Atlanta, the monthly average temperature was 76.6 degrees F (0.7 degrees below normal), in Athens 76.3 degrees (1.2 degrees below normal), Columbus 78.9 (1.0 degrees below normal), Macon 77.9 (1.0 below normal), Savannah 80.4 (0.6 above normal), Brunswick 80.2 (0.1 below normal), Alma 79.6 (0.1 below normal), Augusta 80.1 (1.5 above normal), Albany 79.4 (1.1 below normal), Rome 76.4 (0.4 above normal), and Valdosta 78.3 (1.1 degrees below normal).

Only two record temperatures were set in June.  In Brunswick they reported record high minimum temperatures on June 21 and 24 with 81 F breaking the old record of 80 F set in 2009 and 79 F surpassing the old record of 78 F set in 2010, respectively.  The observation of 81 F tied the all-time highest minimum temperature for the month of June at that location.

The highest monthly total precipitation from National Weather Service reporting stations was 8.89 inches in Valdosta (2.83 inches above normal) and the lowest was in Alma with 3.28 (2.10 inches below normal).  Atlanta received 7.71 inches (3.76 inches above normal), Athens received 8.33 inches (4.15 above normal), Columbus received 3.58 inches (0.14 below normal), Macon 5.26 inches (1.20 above normal), Rome 4.52 inches (0.42 above normal), Savannah 6.65 inches (0.70 above normal), Augusta 3.52 inches (1.20 below normal), Brunswick 5.39 inches (0.55 above normal), and Albany 6.62 inches (1.68 above normal).

There were no daily or monthly rainfall records set in June 2017 across the state.

The highest daily rainfall total from CoCoRaHS observers was 6.14 inches near Lake Park in Lowndes County on June 7, followed by 5.65 and 5.63 inches measured by two observers in north Decatur in DeKalb County on June 21. All three observers noted how heavy the rain came down in their comments.  For the entire month, the highest total was 16.21 inches measured near Kingsland in Camden County followed by 14.93 inches from the Lake Park observer.

There were seven days with severe weather reported in June.  All of it was wind damage from isolated strong thunderstorms.

Drought steadily decreased through the month so that at the end of June there was just a tiny piece of moderate drought left in White County and a few remnant patches of abnormally dry conditions elsewhere in the state.  Those were expected to be eliminated in the first Drought Monitor map of July as rain has continued to fall.

The increase in rain has been a mixed blessing for farmers.  Wetter conditions have reduced the need for irrigation in some areas, and the clouds associated with the moisture conditions have helped keep the temperatures cooler.  However, there has been an increase in fungal diseases linked to the high moisture levels in the areas with the most rain.  Vegetable farmers have had trouble getting their mature crops out of the field to sell at market and some farmers are still trying to plant their last acres of crops. A few fields have flooded low-lying areas.  In areas that missed out on rain, irrigation is still needed and dryland fields are still suffering.

The outlook for July shows that we have an equal chance for near, above or below normal temperatures in the northern half of the state with a slight tilt towards higher temperatures in southern Georgia. Wetter than normal conditions have an increased chance of occurrence across the state through the month.  Over the longer haul, temperatures still have an increased chance of occurrence with equal chances for any category of precipitation.  The biggest question mark in what will happen with rainfall is the effect of the tropics, which are expected to be more active than normal in this ENSO neutral summer.

For more information please see the “Climate and Agriculture” blog at https://site.extension.uga.edu/climate/  or visit our web page at https://www.gaclimate.org.  Please feel free to email your weather and climate impacts on agriculture to share on the blog to pknox@uga.edu.

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