Drought Information Statement for North and Central Georgia Valid October 16, 2025 Issued By: NWS Atlanta / Peachtree City, GA Contact Information: sr-ffc.webmaster@noaa.gov This product will be updated October 30, 2025 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. SEVERE SHORT-TERM DROUGHT HAS DEVELOPED IN GEORGIA Severe Drought is now across portions of north and central Georgia. Recent warm temperatures, low humidity, and much below normal rainfall have led to rapid deterioration of conditions. Without meaningful rainfall, drought expansion will continue in the coming weeks. 1 U.S. Drought Monitor Link to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor for Georgia Drought intensity and extent for north and central Georgia: D4 (Exceptional Drought): None. D3 (Extreme Drought): None. D2 (Severe Drought): Carroll, Chattahoochee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Emanuel, Fayette, Fulton, Harris, Henry, Marion, Meriwether, Muscogee, Pike, Rockdale, Spalding, Talbot, Taylor, Upson D1 (Moderate Drought): Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Bleckley, Butts, Catoosa, Cherokee, Crawford, Crisp, Dodge, Dooly, Floyd, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Hall, Haralson, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Lamar, Laurens, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Paulding, Polk, Pulaski, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen, Troup, Walker, Walton, Webster, Wheeler, Whitfield, Wilcox D0: (Abnormally Dry): Baldwin, Bibb, Chattooga, Clarke, Dade, Dawson, Fannin, Gilmer, Glascock, Gordon, Greene, Hancock, Jasper, Jones, Lumpkin, Murray, Oglethorpe, Peach, Pickens, Putnam, Taliaferro, Twiggs, Warren, Washington, White, Wilkes, Wilkinson Above normal rainfall through January has led to significant drought improvements over Georgia. Wet trends are expected to continue into February, and therefore, this is the final Drought Information Statement. Recent Change in Drought Intensity Link to the latest 2-week change map for U.S. Four Week Drought Monitor Class Change Drought Worsened: Baldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattahoochee, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Crawford, Crisp, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Dodge, Dooly, Douglas, Emanuel, Fannin, Fayette, Floyd, Forsyth, Gilmer, Glascock, Gordon, Greene, Gwinnett, Hall, Hancock, Haralson, Harris, Heard, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Lamar, Laurens, Lumpkin, Macon, Madison, Marion, Meriwether, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Murray, Muscogee, Newton, North Fulton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Peach, Pickens, Pike, Polk, Pulaski, Putnam, Rockdale, Schley, South Fulton, Spalding, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taliaferro, Taylor, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen, Troup, Twiggs, Upson, Walker, Walton, Warren, Washington, Webster, Wheeler, White, Whitfield, Wilcox, Wilkes, Wilkinson Precipitation - Past 30 Days Over the last 30 days, rainfall over north and central Georgia generally ranged from 0.2 to 4 inches. Far north Georgia received the highest amounts, with accumulations of 3 to 6 inches, or 100 to 200 percent of normal. Over metro Atlanta, accumulations were only 0.75 inches or less, or 5 to 10 percent of normal. Elsewhere, amounts of 0.5 to 2 inches were common, or 15 to 50 percent of normal. 30-day rainfall totals (compared to normal): Atlanta (ATL): 0.19” (5%) Fulton County (FTY): 1.02” (28%) Athens (AHN): 1.24” (33%) Peachtree-DeKalb (PDK): 0.64” (17%) Peachtree City (FFC): 0.27” (8%) Macon (MCN): 0.81” (26%) Temperatures - Past 30 Days Over the last 30 days (left image), temperatures over north and central Georgia were above average. Western Georgia saw average temperatures 1-4 degrees above normal. Over east central Georgia, temperatures were 0-3 degrees above normal. More recently, over the last 7 days (right image), average temperatures ranged from above normal over the northwest, to below normal in the southeast. Northwest Georgia saw average temperatures 0-3 degrees above normal, paired with breezy, drying conditions. Summary of Impacts Links: See/submit Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) and view the Drought Impacts Reporter Hydrologic Impacts Overall, 7-day streamflow averages are generally normal to much below normal across most basins in the region, and have worsened over the past two weeks. See next slide for additional details. Agricultural Impacts Soil Moistures have continued to decrease over the past 7-30 days, with much of this area showing dry to very dry conditions. Farmers are reporting drying water sources, delayed harvesting or planting of seasonal crops, and poor grazing conditions. Though most of these reports are outside the north and central Georgia area, verbal reports received mirror similar conditions. The Georgia Crop Progress and Condition Report is not updated at this time. Fire Hazard Impacts Wildfire activity has continued to increase, and the outlook is for above normal wildland fire activity through November. 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. Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts Main Takeaways Degradation in streamflows has occurred in recent weeks due to the well below normal rainfall in several basins. Below normal streamflow conditions are occurring in the Tennessee, Coosa, Chattahoochee, Tallapoosa, Flint, Ocmulgee, Altamaha, and Ogeechee River basins. While portions of the Oconee, Chattahoochee, and lower Ocmulgee River basins fall into the normal range, recent dry conditions have allowed these to drop into the lower end of normal. Lake and Reservoir levels largely remain near or slightly below target for the fall drawdown period. Image Caption: USGS 7 day average streamflow HUC map valid October 15, 2025. Agricultural Impacts The Soil Moisture Ranking Percentile (below) shows generally dry to very dry conditions as of October 15, 2025. The Crop Moisture Index (right) shows indications of short term dryness impacting agriculture over the western and southern half of Georgia. Image Captions: Left: CPC Calculated Soil Moisture Ranking Percentile (data 1932-2000) valid October 15, 2025 Above: Crop Moisture Index by Division. Weekly value for period ending October 11, 2025. Fire Hazard Impacts Keetch Byram Drought Index values have increased above 400 across much of Georgia, and are as high as 600+ in portions of western Georgia. At this time, above normal wildland fire potential is expected for November 2025, as indicated in the Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook (far right). The Wildfire Potential Outlook for next week indicates a Moderate Risk statewide (not pictured). Image Captions: Above: Significant Wildland Fire Potential Monthly Outlook for November 2025 Left: Keetch Byram Drought Index for September 30, 2025. Link to Wildfire Potential Outlooks from the National Interagency Coordination Center. Seven-Day Precipitation Forecast The 7-day outlook (through 7am Fri, October 24): An active weather pattern will attempt to return rain chances back to the state this weekend and again next week, but these frontal systems are forecast to lose steam (and moisture) before moving through Georgia. Far north Georgia may benefit from these waves of activity before they fall apart. They are currently forecast to receive 0.5 to 1 inch of rain. The rest of the area will likely see 0.5 inches or less through next week. Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage For November: There is an equal chance of above or below normal temperatures for north and central Georgia (right). Below-normal precipitation is expected to continue in November (far right). Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Drought is expected to persist or expand in coverage over north and central Georgia through January. Drought Information Statements will be updated every two weeks while D2 Severe Drought (or worse) continues in north and central Georgia. Links to the latest: Climate Prediction Center Monthly Drought Outlook Climate Prediction Center Seasonal Drought Outlook