Drought Information Statement for North and Central Georgia Valid February 5, 2026 Issued By: National Weather Service Atlanta / Peachtree City, GA Contact Information: sr-ffc.webmaster@noaa.gov This product will be updated February 5, 2026 or sooner if drought conditions change significantly. Please see all currently available products at https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/ffc/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/ffc/drought for additional resources. EXTREME DROUGHT REMAINS IN GEORGIA, DESPITE RECENT PRECIPITATION. Over the last two weeks, drought conditions have degraded across far north Georgia, resulting in a west and south expansion of D1 Moderate Drought and D2 Severe Drought. Drought is expected to persist through the Month with some improvement possible in far north Georgia. 1 U.S. Drought Monitor Link to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor for North and Central Georgia Drought intensity and Extent D4 (Exceptional Drought): None. D3 (Extreme Drought): Chattahoochee, Harris, Madison, Muscogee, Oglethorpe, Wilkes D2 (Severe Drought): Banks, Barrow, Bibb, Bleckley, Catoosa, Clarke, Crawford, Crisp, Dodge, Dooly, Emanuel, Fannin, Gilmer, Glascock, Greene, Gwinnett, Hall, Hancock, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Lamar, Laurens, Macon, Marion, Meriwether, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Murray, Oconee, Peach, Pulaski, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taliaferro, Taylor, Telfair, Toombs, Towns, Treutlen, Troup, Twiggs, Union, Upson, Walker, Warren, Washington, Webster, Wheeler, Whitfield, Wilcox, Wilkinson D1 (Moderate Drought): Baldwin, Butts, Carroll, Chattooga, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Gordon, Heard, Henry, Jasper, Lumpkin, Newton, North Fulton, Pickens, Pike, Putnam, Rockdale, South Fulton, Spalding, Walton, White D0: (Abnormally Dry): Bartow, Cherokee, Floyd, Haralson, Paulding, Polk Recent Change in Drought Intensity Link to the latest 2-week and 4-week change map for Georgia. Four Week Drought Monitor Class Change Drought Worsened: Bibb, Bleckley, Chattahoochee, Crisp, Dodge, Dooly, Emanuel, Glascock, Greene, Hancock, Harris, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Lamar, Laurens, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Muscogee, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Pulaski, Stewart, Sumter, Taliaferro, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen, Twiggs, Walton, Warren, Washington, Webster, Wheeler, Wilcox, Wilkes, Wilkinson No Change: Baldwin, Banks, Barrow, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Crawford, Dekalb, Douglas, Fannin, Fayette, Gilmer, Gwinnett, Hall, Heard, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jasper, Macon, Marion, Meriwether, Murray, Newton, North Fulton, Peach, Pike, Putnam, Rockdale, Schley, South Fulton, Spalding, Talbot, Taylor, Towns, Troup, Union, Upson, Walker, Whitfield Drought Improved: Bartow, Chattooga, Cherokee, Dade, Dawson, Floyd, Forsyth, Gordon, Haralson, Lumpkin, Paulding, Pickens, Polk, White The 4-week change map is available here. Precipitation - Past 30 Days Over the last 30 days, rainfall over Georgia has generally ranged from 1.0 to 3.0 inches (40 to 75 percent of normal). A band of higher amounts fell over portions of northeast Georgia, generally from the Rome area eastward to about I-575 and north of I-85. Total precipitation accumulation over this area ranged around 4 to 6 inches (100 to 150 percent of normal). Areas south of I-85 were driest with many receiving less than 50% of normal rainfall. Through Thursday, January 31, at 8 AM: Last 30 Days Last 60 Days Rainfall % Normal Rainfall % Normal Rome (KRMG) 5.52” 114% 6.45” 66% Athens (KAHN) 1.92” 45% 2.32” 27% Peachtree-DeKalb (KPDK) 2.21” 50% 2.92” 33% Fulton County (KFTY) 1.87” 46% 2.95” 35% Atlanta (KATL) 2.21” 50% 3.71” 41% Peachtree City (KFFC) 2.39” 58% 4.04” 46% Macon (KMCN) 1.73” 42% 3.01” 34% Columbus (KCSG) 2.78” 68% 3.5" 40% The Additional Rainfall Information product (MISATL) is available online at weather.gov/ffc. Temperatures - Past 30-, 7-Days Last 30 Days Average High (Departure) Average Low (Departure) Rome (KRMG) 55.8° (+2.5°) 34.5° (+2.7°) Athens (KAHN) 53.5° (-1.1°) 33.1° (-0.7°) Peachtree-DeKalb (KPDK) 53.9° (+1.4°) 34.1° (+1.3°) Fulton County (KFTY) 54.4° (+0.5°) 33.5° (+0.5°) Atlanta (KATL) 53.9° (0°) 36.2° (+0.7°) Peachtree City (KFFC) 53.6° (-1.3°) 32.6° (+0.6°) Macon (KMCN) 58.4° (-0.4°) 33.9° (-1.4°) Columbus (KCSG) 57.2° (-1.2°) 37.2° (-0.3°) Through January 31. *Note, the table values are for the period December 18, 2025 - January 17, 2026, matching the latency for the 30-day and 7-day max temperature anomaly images (right). Over the 30 day period ending January 31 (middle image), average high temperatures over north and central Georgia were near normal (within ~1 degree). The table (left) also includes the average low temperature trends for the 30 day period, which were also remarkably average. For the 7 days ending January 31 (right image) average high temperatures were generally 6 to 8 degrees below normal, highlighting the recent arctic air-mass. Summary of Impacts Links: See/submit Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) and view the Drought Impacts Reporter Hydrologic Impacts River levels have struggled to recharge following recent rains, signaling a shift to a more hydrologic-type drought rather than just agricultural or meteorological. All river basins are experiencing Below Normal to Much Below Normal streamflows compared to climatology for this time of year. See slide 7 for additional details. Agricultural Impacts Harvesting has completed, and though some farmers have reported supplemental feeding is needed, cover crops have been planted for grazing. Water sources (e.g., holding ponds) remain low or mostly dry in many areas. The Crop Progress & Condition report is available through November 2025. Fire Hazard Impacts Wildfire risk continues to be high enough across central and southeast Georgia that leaf and yard waste burning continues to be discouraged. Some counties have noted an uptick in fire-related emergency calls. See slide 9 for more details. Other Impacts There are no known impacts at this time. Mitigation Actions Please refer to your municipality and/or water provider for mitigation information. Main Takeaways Dry conditions have continued to produce anomalously low flows across the majority of Georgia river basins in the last 30 days. Despite recent precipitation in the last week, streamflows show little improvement. All basins have Much Below Normal to Below Normal streamflows. The Chattahoochee River Basin is in Low Flow south of Westpoint. Lake and Reservoir levels reflect a combination of the winter drawdown period and the persistent dry conditions. The available elevation curves for USACE projects in the NWS Peachtree City area show: *Action zones used in some charts are defined here. Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts USACE Lakes Current Action Zone Forecast Action Zone Carters Top of Conservation Zone 2 Lanier Zone 3 Zone 4 Allatoona Zone 3 Zone 3 West Point Top of Conservation Top of Conservation Image Caption: USGS 7-day average streamflow HUC map valid January 21, 2026. Agricultural Impacts Image Captions: Left: 0-200cm Relative Soil Moisture from NASA SPoRT valid January 22, 2026. Right: 0-200 cm Relative Soil Moisture 2-week Change from NASA SPoRT valid January 22, 2026. Though soil moisture has recovered over north Georgia, soils remain quite dry across the central and eastern Georgia (image right). An active weather pattern in the last few weeks provided some minor 1-week change improvements over central Georgia (image far right), but portions of north and northwest Georgia have also shown minor drying during this period. Fire Hazard Impacts Link to Wildfire Potential Outlooks from the National Interagency Coordination Center. Keetch Byram Drought Index values over central and south Georgia continue to be in the 300 to 600 range, with values over north Georgia generally under 200. Much of north and northwest Georgia has values of 0 to 60. At this time, above normal wildland fire potential is expected for Georgia for March, as indicated in the Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook (far right). This above normal potential is expected to continue into April for southeast Georgia. Image Captions: Above: Significant Wildland Fire Potential Monthly Outlook for February 2026. Left: Keetch Byram Drought Index for January 21, 2026. The Wildfire Potential Outlook for next week indicates Little or No Risk (level 1 of 3) for Georgia through the next 5 days. The 7-day outlook (through Thursday, January 29): Over the next seven days, little to no precipitation is expected across the state. The precipitation forecast of less than 0.1” of rainfall is insufficient to maintain or improve current drought conditions. Seven Day Precipitation Forecast Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage For February: There is a small chance of below normal precipitation across north and central Georgia (right). Below normal temperatures are expected over Georgia (far right). Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Links to the latest: Climate Prediction Center Monthly Drought Outlook Climate Prediction Center Seasonal Drought Outlook Drought is expected to persist across most of Georgia into early Spring. Improvement is expected over far north Georgia. Drought Information Statements will be updated every two weeks while D2 Severe Drought (or worse) continues in north and central Georgia.