Drought Information Statement for North and Central Georgia Valid April 2, 2026 Issued By: National Weather Service Atlanta / Peachtree City, GA Contact Information: sr-ffc.webmaster@noaa.gov This product will be updated April 16, 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 Expands Significantly in Georgia Peak Event Intensity: Drought area and intensity have reached their highest levels since the Fall 2025 onset, and D3 (Extreme Drought) now encompasses nearly two-thirds of Georgia. Increased Water Demand: Rising temperatures and "spring green-up" are accelerating hydrologic stress. 1 U.S. Drought Monitor Link to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor for North and Central Georgia Drought intensity and Extent: D4 (Exceptional): Telfair D3 (Extreme): Banks, Barrow, Catoosa, Chattahoochee, Chattooga, Clarke, Crawford, Crisp, Dawson, Dodge, Dooly, Emanuel, Fannin, Forsyth, Gilmer, Gordon, Gwinnett, Hall, Harris, Jackson, Johnson, Lamar, Laurens, Lumpkin, Macon, Madison, Marion, Meriwether, Monroe, Montgomery, Murray, Muscogee, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Peach, Pickens, Pulaski, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taliaferro, Taylor, Toombs, Towns, Treutlen, Union, Upson, Walker, Webster, Wheeler, White, Whitfield, Wilcox, Wilkes D2 (Severe): Bartow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dade, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Floyd, Fulton, Glascock, Greene, Hancock, Henry, Houston, Jasper, Jefferson, Jones, Morgan, Newton, Paulding, Pike, Polk, Putnam, Rockdale, Spalding, Troup, Twiggs, Walton, Warren, Washington, Wilkinson D1 (Moderate): Baldwin, Haralson, Heard 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) Drought Worsened: Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Catoosa, Chattahoochee, Cherokee, Cobb, Coweta, Crawford, Crisp, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Dodge, Dooly, Douglas, Emanuel, Fannin, Floyd, Forsyth, Fulton, Gilmer, Gordon, Greene, Gwinnett, Hall, Harris, Houston, Jones, Lamar, Laurens, Lumpkin, Macon, Marion, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan, Murray, Muscogee, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Peach, Pickens, Pike, Polk, Rockdale, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor, Telfair, Towns, Twiggs, Union, Upson, Walker, Walton, Webster, White, Whitfield, Wilcox, Wilkes, Wilkinson No Change: Bleckley, Chattooga, Clarke, Clayton, Glascock, Heard, Henry, Jackson, Madison, Montgomery, Newton, Pulaski, Taliaferro, Toombs, Treutlen, Troup, Wheeler Drought Improved: Baldwin, Butts, Carroll, Emanuel, Fayette, Floyd, Hancock, Haralson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Laurens, Polk, Putnam, Spalding, Warren, Washington The 4-week change map is available here. The 1-week change map is shown right. {{DROUGHT_CHANGE_MAP}} Precipitation - Past 30 Days The Additional Rainfall Information product (MISATL) is available online at weather.gov/ffc. Through Thursday, April 2, 2026, at 8AM: Warm temperatures have kicked off the spring green up statewide, stressing the hydrologic conditions under a new demand for water. In the last 30-days below normal rainfall has been the norm, with rainfall amounts rainfall ranging from 0.75 inches (20 percent of normal) over far east central Georgia, to 4 inches (90 percent of normal) over portions of western Georgia. March in Georgia is traditionally one of the wettest months with a more active weather pattern providing steady waves of rainfall. Since the start of the drought in the fall, Atlanta, Macon and Columbus have now had their driest September through March periods in 100 years or more. National Water Prediction Service link to the 30-day precipitation map for North and Central Georgia {{PRECIPITATION}} Temperatures - Past 30-, 7-Days Through March 29, 2026.* *Note, the table values are for the period February 27-March 29, 2026, matching the latency for the 30-day and 7-day max temperature anomaly images (right). Over the 30 day period ending March 29, average high temperatures (middle image) were well above normal (+4 to +10 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 (+3.0 or more degrees). The extremely anomalous warmth is just as evident for the 7 days ending March 29 (right image), with the entire Southeast U.S. blanketed with average high temperature anomalies of 4 or more degrees. {{TEMPERATURE}} Summary of Impacts Links: See/submit Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) and view the Drought Impacts Reporter Hydrologic Impacts Streamflow continues to suffer under dry and warm conditions. 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. Reports continue to indicate poor pasture conditions, an inability to plant forage crops, extreme impact to harvests or planting, animal stress, etc. Planting season officially begins in April, but concerns exist given the low water levels for irrigation. The Crop Progress & Condition report will begin updating again April 4, 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. Red Flag Warnings have also been issued in the last 14 days to address heightened wildfire concern. 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, streamflow has continued to range from Below Normal to Extremely Low at most locations, particularly the Chattahoochee, Coosa, Tennessee, Oconee, Ocmulgee and Flint River basins. Lake and Reservoir levels continue to show the impacts of a lacking recharge period and the lingering dry conditions from since last fall. 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 Zone 1 Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts See the USGS 120-day streamflow map here. Disclaimer: Following the decommissioning of USGS WaterWatch, historical maps are no longer available. The above image were generated using USGS streamflow data, and the streamflow anomaly data presented here are provisional. Following the decommissioning of the USGS Water Watch, historical maps are no longer available. The current image was generated using the USGS streamflow data, and the streamflow anomaly data presented here are provisional. {{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 increased drying in the last two weeks (image far right). Recent warm temperatures have kicked off the spring green-up period. 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 April 2, 2026. Right: 0-200 cm Relative Soil Moisture 2-week Change from NASA SPoRT valid April 2, 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 generally 200-400 in most locations, except over north Georgia where values are generally 150-200. At this time, above normal wildland fire potential is expected for Georgia for April, 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 April 2026. Left: Keetch Byram Drought Index for April 1, 2026. The Wildfire Potential Outlook indicates Moderate Risk (level 3 of 3) for Georgia this weekend and into next week. {{FIRE_WEATHER}} 86.8% 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) March 31, 2026 (13.6%) 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 April 9): The forecast includes 0.5 to 1.5 inches of rain over north Georgia. South of line from Carrollton to Atlanta to Athens, rainfall amounts will be under 0.5 inches. The 8-14 day outlook (April 8-14) shows lower than normal precipitation chances. In general it takes three consecutive months of above normal rainfall to end a drought. 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 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}}