Drought Information Statement for North and Central Georgia
Valid February 19, 2026
Issued By: National Weather Service Atlanta / Peachtree City, GA
Contact Information: sr-ffc.webmaster@noaa.gov
This product will be updated March 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.drought.gov/drought-status-updates for regional drought status updates.
Extreme drought continues to expand despite recent rains.
Coverage of D2-D4 drought is at its highest in Georgia since 2011.
Hydrologic and fire weather impacts are increasing across the state.
Without an active weather pattern producing meaningful rainfall, expect the drought to persist through the Spring months.
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, Crawford, Dodge, Emanuel, Harris, Johnson, Lamar, Laurens, Madison, Marion, Meriwether, Monroe, Montgomery, Muscogee, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Talbot, Taylor, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen, Upson, Walton, Wheeler, Wilcox, Wilkes
D2 (Severe Drought): Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Crisp, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Dooly, Douglas, Fannin, Fayette, Floyd, Forsyth, Gilmer, Glascock, Gordon, Greene, Gwinnett, Hall, Hancock, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jones, Lumpkin, Macon, Morgan, Murray, Newton, North Fulton, Paulding, Peach, Pickens, Pike, Polk, Pulaski, Putnam, Rockdale, Schley, South Fulton, Spalding, Stewart, Sumter, Taliaferro, Towns, Troup, Twiggs, Union, Walker, Warren, Washington, Webster, White, Whitfield, Wilkinson
D1 (Moderate Drought): Baldwin
D0: (Abnormally Dry): None.
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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: Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattahoochee, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Crawford, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Dodge, Douglas, Emanuel, Fannin, Fayette, Floyd, Forsyth, Gilmer, Glascock, Gordon, Greene, Gwinnett, Hall, Hancock, Haralson, Harris, Heard, Henry, Jackson, Jasper, Johnson, Lamar, Laurens, Lumpkin, Madison, Marion, Meriwether, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Murray, Muscogee, Newton, North Fulton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Pickens, Pike, Polk, Putnam, Rockdale, South Fulton, Spalding, Talbot, Taylor, Telfair, Toombs, Towns, Treutlen, Troup, Union, Upson, Walker, Walton, Warren, Wheeler, White, Whitfield, Wilcox, Wilkes
 
No Change: Baldwin, Bibb, Bleckley, Crisp, Dooly, Houston, Jefferson, Jones, Macon, Peach, Pulaski, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Taliaferro, Twiggs, Washington, Webster, Wilkinson

Drought Improved: None.

The 4-week change map is available here. The 1-week change map is shown right.
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Precipitation - Past 30 Days
Over the last 30 days, rainfall over Georgia has generally ranged from 2.0 to 4.0 inches (30 to 95 percent of normal), with outliers on each side of this range. Pockets of higher amounts were observed near Ellijay and in the greater Macon area, with totals closer to 4.5 inches (70 to 80 percent of normal). The lowest amounts – generally between 1.75 and 2 inches (40 to 50 percent of normal) – were observed in the metro Atlanta area and near Vidalia in east central Georgia. 
The Additional Rainfall Information product (MISATL) is available online at weather.gov/ffc.
Through Thursday, February 19, 2026, at 7AM:
Last 30 Days
Last 60 Days
Rainfall
% Normal
Rainfall
% Normal
Rome (KRMG)
2.18
44%
6.56
67%
Athens (KAHN)
2.40
54%
3.19
36%
Peachtree-DeKalb (KPDK)
1.89
41%
3.43
38%
Fulton County (KFTY)
1.74
40%
3.40
40%
Atlanta (KATL)
2.13
46%
4.16
45%
Peachtree City (KFFC)
2.06
45%
4.35
49%
Macon (KMCN)
2.20
50%
3.66
42%
Columbus (KCSG)
2.40
54%
3.96
45%
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Temperatures - Past 30-, 7-Days
Last 30 Days
Average High (Departure)
Average Low (Departure)
Rome (KRMG)
55.5° (+0.5°)
32.5° (-0.2°)
Athens (KAHN)
52.4° (-3.6°)
30.4° (-4.3°)
Peachtree-DeKalb (KPDK)
53.2° (-1.0°)
30.7° (-3.0°)
Fulton County (KFTY)
53.2° (-2.5°)
30.5° (-3.5°)
Atlanta (KATL)
53.6° (-1.9°)
33.6° (-2.9°)
Peachtree City (KFFC)
53.5° (-3.0°)
29.9° (-3.0°)
Macon (KMCN)
57.6° (-2.4°)
30.9° (-5.2°)
Columbus (KCSG)
58.3° (-1.6°)
35.3° (-3.2°)
Through February 16, 2026.*
*Note, the table values are for the period January 17-February 16, 2026, matching the latency for the 30-day and 7-day max temperature anomaly images (right).
Over the 30 day period ending February 16 (middle image), average high temperatures over north and central Georgia were generally 1 to 3 degrees below normal. The table (left) also includes the average low temperature trends for the 30 day period, which were largely 2 to 5 degrees below normal for most climate locations.  
For the 7 days ending February 16 (right image), a recent warm pattern drove average high temperatures back above climatological normals by 4 to 8 degrees. Daily high temperatures in the mid to upper 70s were a big change over the previous month.

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Summary of Impacts
Links: See/submit Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) and view the Drought Impacts Reporter
Hydrologic Impacts 
River levels remain exceptionally low for this time of year. Most 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
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. Planting season is still on schedule to begin in April, but concerns exist given the low water levels for irrigation.
The Crop Progress & Condition report is available through November 2025. 

Fire Hazard Impacts
Wildfire risk continues to be high enough that leaf and yard waste burning has been discouraged since late 2025. Some counties have noted an uptick in fire-related emergency calls.
The prescribed burn season has begun, and officials are collaborating with NWS to identify safe burning periods. 
See slide 9 for more details.

Mitigation Actions
Please refer to your municipality and/or water provider for mitigation information.



Main Takeaways

Warm and generally dry conditions have continued to produce anomalously low flows across the majority of Georgia river basins in the last 30 days. Despite the rainfall in the last week, streamflows show little improvement. Most basins have Much Below Normal to Below Normal streamflows. 
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.
USACE Lakes
Current Action Zone
Forecast Action Zone
Carters
Zone 1
Zone 1
Lanier
Zone 3
Zone 3
Allatoona
Zone 3
Zone 3
West Point
Top of Conservation
Top of Conservation
Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts
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Agricultural Impacts
Soil moistures remain quite dry over much of north and central Georgia (image right). 
Far north Georgia has the highest 0-200 cm relative soil moisture in the state, but portions of northwest Georgia has shown additional drying in the last two weeks (image far right). 
Planting season typical starts in April, but increased rainfall will be needed to balance the increasing water demand into the growing season.
Image Captions: 
Left: 0-200cm Relative Soil Moisture from NASA SPoRT valid February 20, 2026.
Right: 0-200 cm Relative Soil Moisture 2-week Change from NASA SPoRT valid February 20, 2026.
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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 250 to 550 range, with values over north Georgia generally under 100. Far north Georgia has values of 0 to 40.

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 through Spring.


Image Captions:
Above:  Significant Wildland Fire Potential Monthly Outlook for March 2026.
Left: Keetch Byram Drought Index for February 19, 2026.
The Wildfire Potential Outlook indicates Little or No Risk (level 1 of 3) for Georgia through the much of the next week, with the potential for Moderate Risk (level 2 of 3) for central Georgia Wednesday and Thursday.
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Drought: Historical Context
Link to Drought Monitor Time Series
Time series is courtesy of the US Drought Monitor. This graph shows the depiction of the D0, D1, D2, D3, and D4 drought across the state of Georgia since January 2000.
For the Drought Event beginning in September 2025, for the entire state of Georgia:
Sep 23, 2025
First D2 (Severe) Drought in Georgia:
D4 (Exceptional)
Nov 18, 2025
Maximum drought category so far:
87.4% of GA
Feb 17, 2026
Largest D2-D4 coverage in Georgia:
Oct 4, 2011
87.6% of GA
Last time there was at least 87% of GA in D2-D4:

The 7-day outlook (through Friday February 27):

Over the next seven days, rainfall amounts of generally 0.75 to 2 inches are forecast. 
The majority of this rainfall will occur Saturday and Sunday, with dry conditions forecast through Thursday next week. 

Seven Day Precipitation Forecast
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Rapid Onset Drought Outlook
Links to the latest Climate Prediction Center 8 to 14 day Temperature Outlook and Precipitation Outlook.
Summarize conditions and impacts here

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Long-Range Outlooks
The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage
For March:

Equal chances of above or below normal precipitation is expected over most of north and central Georgia (right).

Above normal temperatures are expected over Georgia (far right). 
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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. 

Drought Information Statements will be updated every two weeks while D2 Severe Drought (or worse) continues in north and central Georgia.
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