Drought Information Statement for North and Central Georgia Valid March 19, 2026 Issued By: National Weather Service Atlanta / Peachtree City, GA Contact Information: sr-ffc.webmaster@noaa.gov This product will be updated April 2, 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. D3 Extreme Drought did expand in coverage this week, despite the cumulative D2-D4 drought area has remaining steady. Hydrologic and fire weather impacts remain a concern across the state. A benign weather pattern through the rest of March will likely result in expansion of drought conditions. 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): Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Crawford, Dodge, Fannin, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson, Johnson, Lamar, Laurens, Lumpkin, Madison, Meriwether, Monroe, Montgomery, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Talbot, Taylor, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen, Union, Upson, White, Wilcox D2 (Severe Drought): Bartow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Dooly, Fayette, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Greene, Henry, Houston, Jasper, Macon, Morgan, Murray, Newton, Peach, Pickens, Pike, Pulaski, Rockdale, Schley, Spalding, Sumter, Taliaferro, Towns, Twiggs, Walker, Walton, Washington, Webster, Whitfield, Wilkinson D1 (Moderate Drought): Baldwin, Carroll, Douglas, Haralson, Heard, Jones, Paulding, Polk D0 (Abnormally Dry): None. D4 (Exceptional Drought): D3 (Extreme Drought): D2 (Severe Drought): D1 (Moderate Drought): D0 (Abnormally Dry): {{DROUGHT_MONITOR}} Recent Change in Drought Intensity Link to the latest 2-week and 4-week change map for Georgia. Four Week Drought Monitor Class Change (image not shown) The 4-week change map is available here. The 1-week change map is shown right. Drought Worsened: Banks, Fannin, Forsyth, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison, Toombs, Union, White, Wilcox No Change: Bleckley, Butts, Catoosa, Chattooga, Clarke, Clayton, Coweta, Dade, Dawson, Dodge, Dooly, Fayette, Gilmer, Gordon, Henry, Jasper, Johnson, Lamar, Laurens, Monroe, Montgomery, Murray, Newton, Pickens, Pulaski, Schley, Spalding, Sumter, Taliaferro, Telfair, Towns, Treutlen, Upson, Walker, Webster, Whitfield Drought Improved: Baldwin, Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Carroll, Cherokee, Cobb, Crawford, DeKalb, Douglas, Floyd, Forsyth, Greene, Gwinnett, Haralson, Heard, Houston, Jones, Macon, Meriwether, Morgan, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Peach, Pike, Polk, Rockdale, Talbot, Taylor, Twiggs, Walton, Washington, Wilkinson {{DROUGHT_CHANGE_MAP}} Precipitation - Past 30 Days The Additional Rainfall Information product (MISATL) is available online at weather.gov/ffc. Through Thursday, March 19, 2026, at 8AM: Georgia has had a wetter, more active period over the last 30 days, with observed rainfall ranging from 4 to 8 inches (or 90-170 percent of normal) at the climate locations (see table). However, some areas missed the beneficial rainfall. Over north and central Georgia, the lowest observed rainfall occurred in the general vicinity of Vidalia. In this area, 30-day rainfall totals were only 1.5 to 3.0 inches (or 40 to 70% of normal). The northeast Georgia mountains fared slightly better: 2.5 to 4.0 inches (or 40 to 75% of normal). The highest rainfall amounts (5 to 9 inches, or 100 to 180% of normal) occurred west of I-75 and I-85 over western Georgia, and in the greater Atlanta metro. An isolated area in DeKalb County exceeded 10 inches (210% of normal). National Water Prediction Service link to the 30-day precipitation map for North and Central Georgia {{PRECIPITATION}} Temperatures - Past 30-, 7-Days Through March 15, 2026.* *Note, the table values are for the period February 13-March 15, 2026, matching the latency for the 30-day and 7-day max temperature anomaly images (right). Over the 30 day period ending March 14 (middle image), average high temperatures were well above normal (+6 or more degrees) over north and central Georgia. The table (left) also includes the average low temperature trends for the 30 day period, which were nearly as extreme (+5.5 or more degrees). The extremely anomalous warmth is even more evident for the 7 days ending March 14 (right image), with the entire Southeast U.S. blanketed with average high temperature anomalies of 8 or more degrees. {{TEMPERATURE}} Summary of Impacts Links: See/submit Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) and view the Drought Impacts Reporter Hydrologic Impacts Streamflow over the greater Atlanta metro area and in the Chattahoochee and upper Flint River Basins are normal for the last 14-days due to beneficial rainfall. Outside of this area, most streamflows are still within the below normal ranges. As warming temperatures encourage the green up, higher demand on water sources and increased evapotranspiration will further stress water supplies and soil moisture. See slide 7 for additional details. Agricultural Impacts Water sources (e.g., holding ponds) remain low or mostly dry in many areas. Planting season officially begins in April, but concerns exist given the low water levels for irrigation. Most livestock producers are now out of hay, and pastures lack adequate rainfall to green up or produce forage crops. The Crop Progress & Condition report will begin updating again April 2026. 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 In the last 14-days, rainfall in the greater Atlanta metro area has been sufficient enough to allow streamflows to return to normal levels. Many basins missed out on the beneficial rainfall over the last two weeks, including the Tennessee, Coosa, Savannah, and lower portions of the Oconee, Ocmulgee and Flint River basins. In these areas, streamflows remained in the below-normal ranges. Lake and Reservoir levels show a combination of the start of the spring recharge period and the lingering dry conditions from the last few months. 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 Top of Conservation Zone 2 Lanier Zone 3 Zone 3 Allatoona Top of Conservation Zone 3 West Point Top of Conservation Top of Conservation Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts See the USGS 120-day streamflow map here. {{HYDROLOGIC}} Agricultural Impacts Soil moistures remain dry over much of central and south Georgia (image right). Far north Georgia has the highest 0-200 cm relative soil moisture in the state, despite only seeing marginal improvement over portions of this area (image far right). West central and a stretch across east central Georgia saw the largest improvement. Planting season typically 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 March 19, 2026. Right: 0-200 cm Relative Soil Moisture 2-week Change from NASA SPoRT valid March 19, 2026. {{AGRICULTURE}} Fire Hazard Impacts Link to Wildfire Potential Outlooks from the National Interagency Coordination Center. Keetch Byram Drought Index values over north and central Georgia are under 100 in most locations, with much of north Georgia showing values under 50. 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 March 18, 2026. The Wildfire Potential Outlook indicates Moderate Risk (level 3 of 3) for Georgia this weekend and into next week. {{FIRE_WEATHER}} 80.6% of GA TODAY Current D2-D4 coverage in Georgia: 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 *for this drought period 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 March 26): Over the next seven days, rainfall is severely limited across the area. Far north Georgia could see small amounts of generally 0.10 inches or less. The 8-14 day outlook (Mar 25-31) shows lower than normal precipitation chances. Precipitation Outlook {{QPF_7_DAY}} 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 {{OUTLOOK_8_14_DAY}} Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage For April through June: Above normal chances of precipitation are expected across much of the state (image right). Above normal temperatures are expected over Georgia (far right). {{OUTLOOK_MONTHLY}} 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 north Georgia into the summer months. Over central Georgia, some improvement or ending is possible. Drought Information Statements will be updated every two weeks while D2 Severe Drought (or worse) continues in north and central Georgia. {{OUTLOOK_DROUGHT_SEASONAL}}