Drought Information Statement for North and Central Georgia
Valid April 30, 2026
Issued By: National Weather Service Atlanta / Peachtree City, GA
Contact Information: sr-ffc.webmaster@noaa.gov
This product will be updated May 14, 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.
Georgia Drought Coverage Highest in History of Drought Monitor
100% Statewide Saturation: Every Georgia county is now in "official" drought (D2–D4), triggering a statewide Level 1 Drought Response.
Compounding Impacts: Severe dry conditions have fueled massive wildfires and air quality alerts while causing significant agricultural impacts.

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U.S. Drought Monitor
Link to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor for North and Central Georgia

Drought intensity and Extent:
D4 (Exceptional Drought): Banks, Dodge, Emanuel, Jackson, Madison, Montgomery, Telfair, Toombs, Wheeler, Wilcox
D3 (Extreme Drought): Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattahoochee, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Crawford, Crisp, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Dooly, Douglas, Fannin, Fayette, Floyd, Forsyth, Fulton, Gilmer, Gordon, Greene, Gwinnett, Hall, Hancock, Haralson, Harris, Henry, Jasper, Johnson, Jones, Lamar, Laurens, Lumpkin, Macon, Marion, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan, Murray, Muscogee, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Peach, Pickens, Pike, Polk, Pulaski, Putnam, Rockdale, Schley, Spalding, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taliaferro, Taylor, Towns, Treutlen, Troup, Union, Upson, Walker, Walton, Warren, Webster, White, Whitfield, Wilkes
D2 (Severe Drought): Baldwin, Bleckley, Glascock, Heard, Houston, Jefferson, Twiggs, Washington, Wilkinson
D1 (Moderate Drought): None.
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 
(image not shown)

Drought Worsened: Baldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Crawford, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Dodge, Douglas, Emanuel, Fayette, Floyd, Forsyth, Fulton, Gilmer, Glascock, Gordon, Greene, Gwinnett, Hall, Hancock, Haralson, Harris, Heard, Henry, Jasper, Jefferson, Jones, Lamar, Madison, Meriwether, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Murray, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Pickens, Pike, Polk, Pulaski, Putnam, Rockdale, Spalding, Taliaferro, Telfair, Toombs, Troup, Upson, Walker, Walton, Warren, Washington, Wheeler, Whitfield, Wilcox, Wilkes, Wilkinson
No Change: Bleckley, Chattahoochee, Clarke, Crisp, Dooly, Fannin, Houston, Jackson, Johnson, Laurens, Lumpkin, Macon, Marion, Muscogee, Peach, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor, Towns, Treutlen, Twiggs, Union, Webster, White
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
The Additional Rainfall Information product (MISATL) is available online at weather.gov/ffc.
Through Thursday, April 30, 2026, at 8AM:
Rainfall in the last 48-hours has improved deficits across north and central Georgia, but many areas of the state are still at less than 60 percent of normal rainfall for the last 30 days (see table). Additionally, the majority of the state still has deficits of 10-20 inches since October 1, around when this drought period began. 
The highest rainfall amounts occurred over northern and western portions of the state where amounts were generally 2 to 4 inches, or 60-110 percent of normal. The lowest amounts were observed over east central Georgia, near Vidalia, which has consistently been missed over the last several months. In this area, 0 to 0.3 inches of rainfall was observed, or 0-10% of normal. 
National Water Prediction Service link to the 30-day precipitation map for North and Central Georgia
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Temperatures - Past 30-, 7-Days
Through April 26, 2026.*
*Note, the table values are for the 30-day period ending April 26. 2026, matching the latency for the 30-day and 7-day max temperature anomaly images (right).
For the period ending April 26, average high temperatures were well above normal (+3 to +8 degrees) over north and central Georgia at the 30-day period (image center, table), and also more recently for the 7-day period (image right). The average low temperature trends for the 30 day period (also shown in the table), were not quite as anomalous – a testament to the drier-than-normal continental air mass that has remained in place.
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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, even with recent rainfall during a more active weather pattern. 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
Dire reports continue to indicate near-total crop failure, livestock mortality, and the depletion of natural water sources. Farmers indicate 10-20% of typical April forage is available for cattle, even with rotating pastures.
The Crop Progress & Condition charts shows extremely low percentages for winter wheat, pasture and range, and corn, as well as high percentages of very poor to fair conditions.
See slide 8 for additional details on soil moistures.
CMOR report photo from Morgan County, 4/20/26
Fire Hazard Impacts
Heightened fire activity across Georgia, including major blazes in the south, has prompted stricter burn bans and more frequent NWS fire warnings. These hazardous conditions have further impacted public health, with smoke triggers leading to several air quality alerts over the past two weeks. See slide 9 for more details.

Mitigation Actions
Please refer to your municipality and/or water provider for mitigation information. Many areas have burn bans in place and have instituted Drought Response Level 1, including restricted outdoor watering schedules. Refer to your municipality and/or water provider for mitigation information. 


CMOR report photo from Oglethorpe County, 4/18/26

Main Takeaways
In the last 14-days, streamflow has continued to range from Much Below Normal to Extremely Low in all major river basins. The lack of rain has caused continued decreases in streamflows, groundwater and reservoir levels. Some encouraging improvements were observed over the last 48-hours with repeated waves of light to moderate rainfall. 
Despite the recent rainfall, Lake and Reservoir levels continue to show the impacts of a long, persistent dry period, with most reservoirs below seasonal normals. 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 2
Zone 2
Lanier
Zone 3
Zone 4
Allatoona
Zone 3
Zone 4
West Point
Zone 2
Zone 3
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.
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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.
Some improvements in soil moisture have occurred over north and western portions of the state where higher rainfall amounts have recently occurred.
Some planting is underway, but reports indicate delayed growth or failure to germinate. 
Image Captions: 
Left: 0-200cm Relative Soil Moisture from NASA SPoRT valid April 29, 2026.
Right: 0-200 cm Relative Soil Moisture 2-week Change from NASA SPoRT valid April 29, 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 north and central Georgia are generally 200-500 in most locations, except over far north Georgia where values are generally 150-200.

At this time, above normal wildland fire potential is expected for portions of Georgia for May, as indicated in the Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook (far right). This above normal potential is expected to continue into Summer.


Image Captions:
Above:  Significant Wildland Fire Potential Monthly Outlook for May 2026.
Left: Keetch Byram Drought Index for April 29, 2026.
The Wildfire Potential Outlook indicates Moderate (level 3 of 4) for portions of south and central Georgia midweek.
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100.0% of GA
TODAY
Current D2-D4 coverage in Georgia:
Drought: Historical Context
Link to Drought Monitor Time Series
The 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)
April , 2026 (33.3%)
Maximum drought category so far:
This is the first time the entire state of Georgia has been included in D2-D4 (official drought) in its 26-year history.

*for this drought period
100.0% of GA
TODAY
Largest D2-D4 coverage in Georgia*:

100.0% 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)
April , 2026 (33.3%)
Maximum drought category so far:100.0% of GA TODAY, 
Largest D2-D4 coverage in Georgia: This is the first time in the 26-year history of the Drought Monitor.
Last time there was 100.0% of GA in D2-D4: N/A


The 7-day outlook (through May 6, pictured right):

Significant rainfall amounts are forecast, largely expected Saturday and Wednesday, with 7-day totals of 0.5 to 2.5 inches currently forecast.
Highest amounts stretch from Columbus to Macon to Augusta.
The 8-14 day outlook (May 6-12, image far) shows a continuing active pattern with above normal precipitation changes.
Precipitation Outlook
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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 May through July:

Above normal chances of precipitation are expected across portions of central Georgia (image 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 north Georgia into mid-summer. Over central Georgia.

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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