Drought Information Statement for North and Central Georgia Valid November 26, 2025 Issued By: NWS Atlanta / Peachtree City, GA Contact Information: sr-ffc.webmaster@noaa.gov This product will be updated December 11, 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. EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT CONDITIONS EXPAND IN SOUTH GEORGIA Severe Drought expands over portions of north and central Georgia, and Extreme Drought persists over southwest Metro Atlanta. Without additional, meaningful rainfall, drought expansion will continue in the coming weeks, particularly over south and central Georgia. 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): Clayton, Coweta, Crisp, Fayette, Meriwether, Pike, Spalding D2 (Severe Drought): Bibb, Bleckley, Chattahoochee, Cobb, Crawford, DeKalb, Dodge, Dooly, Douglas, Emanuel, Gwinnett, Harris, Heard, Henry, Houston, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Lamar, Laurens, Macon, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, Muscogee, North Fulton, Peach, Pulaski, Rockdale, Schley, South Fulton, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen, Troup, Twiggs, Upson, Washington, Webster, Wheeler, Wilcox, Wilkinson D1 (Moderate Drought): Baldwin, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Fannin, Forsyth, Gilmer, Glascock, Greene, Hancock, Haralson, Jasper, Morgan, Murray, Newton, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Polk, Putnam, Taliaferro, Warren, Wilkes D0: (Abnormally Dry): Catoosa, Chattooga, Clarke, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Oconee, Pickens, Walker, Walton, Whitfield Drought_by_Week_2025 - Google Sheets 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: Bibb, Bleckley, Crawford, Crisp, Dodge, Dooly, Emanuel, Heard, Houston, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Lamar, Macon, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, Peach, Pulaski, Schley, Spalding, Stewart, Sumter, Taylor, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen, Twiggs, Upson, Washington, Webster, Wheeler, Wilcox, Wilkinson No Change: Baldwin, Bartow, Butts, Catoosa, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Glascock, Gordon, Hancock, Haralson, Harris, Henry, Jasper, Meriwether, Murray, Muscogee, Paulding, Pickens, Polk, Putnam, Talbot, Taliaferro, Troup, Warren, Whitfield Drought Improved: Banks, Barrow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Coweta, Dade, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Greene, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson, Madison, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Pike, Walker, Wilkes Precipitation - Past 30 Days Over the last 30 days, rainfall over north Georgia (north of the fall line) generally ranged from 1.5 to 4.0 inches, or 40 to 90 percent of normal. In this same time period, rainfall south of the fall line has ranged from 0.25 to 2.0 inches, or 15 to 70 percent of normal. Last 30 Days Last 60 Days Rainfall % Normal Rainfall % Normal Rome (KRMG) 2.99” 76% 5.77” 76% Athens (KAHN) 3.26” 90% 4.38” 62% Peachtree-DeKalb (KPDK) 3.23” 81% 3.40” 45% Fulton County (KFTY) 3.20” 89% 3.40” 47% Atlanta (KATL) 1.63” 41% 3.99” 57% Peachtree City (KFFC) 3.07” 83% 3.34” 47% Macon (KMCN) 0.89” 28% 1.51” 26% Columbus (KCSG) 0.94” 26% 1.86” 29% The Additional Rainfall Information product (MISATL) is available online at weather.gov/ffc. Through Tuesday, 11/25 at 8 AM: Temperatures - Past 30 Days Over the 30 day period ending November 21 (left image), high temperatures over north and central Georgia were generally normal, with pockets of above normal high temperatures in the Metro Atlanta area. For the 7 days ending November 21 (right image) high temperatures were above normal. In contrast, low temperatures during these periods were largely at or below normal, thanks to a cold snap earlier in the month (see table above for 30-day mean low temperatures). Last 30 Days Average High (Departure) Average Low (Departure) Rome (KRMG) 71.1° (+3.1°) 45.2° (+2.9°) Athens (KAHN) 68.0° (+0.1°) 44.1° (-0.5°) Peachtree-DeKalb (KPDK) 69.2° (+2.4°) 44.1° (-0.2°) Fulton County (KFTY) 67.7° (-0.2°) 42.8° (-1.3°) Atlanta (KATL) 68.9° (+1.7°) 47.9° (+0.4°) Peachtree City (KFFC) 67.9° (-0.3°) 41.7° (-0.4°) Macon (KMCN) 72.1° (+0.4°) 41.4° (-3.5°) Columbus (KCSG) 71.0° (-0.3°) 45.5° (-3.4°) Through Friday, 11/21: Summary of Impacts Links: See/submit Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) and view the Drought Impacts Reporter Hydrologic Impacts Overall, 7-day streamflow averages have continued to decline from the last update, with the majority of the mainstem rivers at below to much below normal streamflow. Small improvements have resulted from recent rainfall over northwest Georgia. Among the mainstem rivers, the basins in southwest Georgia have the lowest streamflows. Agricultural Impacts Soil moistures remain dry, particularly over central Georgia. Reports continue to indicate winter grazing not growing, and having to supplement exclusively with hay since August. Drying water sources continue to be a concern, with either low or completely dry sources. Other reports relay brown vegetation conditions, crisp grass and fire hazard warnings. Several reports of increasing cost to hay feed livestock, even indicating livestock herds have had to be reduced/sold to accommodate high operating costs. The Crop Progress & Condition graphs show the largest impact to cotton, peanuts and soybeans. Fire Hazard Impacts Wildfire risk continues to be high, even despite the recent rainfall. Despite the above normal Wildland Fire Potential Outlook for November, normal risk is expected for December. Leaf and yard waste burning is being discouraged across much of Georgia due to the dry conditions. 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 Despite some improvement over northwest Georgia, streamflows in other portions of the state have continued to degrade since the last update. Although normal streamflows are present across portions of the state, all main stem river basins in north and central Georgia have below normal to much above normal streamflows for this time of year: Coosa, Tennessee, Tallapoosa, Chattahoochee, Flint, Ocmulgee, Savannah, Ogeechee, Altamaha, and Suwannee. Perhaps the basins with the most ‘normal’ conditions are potions of the Tennessee, Oconee and Ogeechee River basins. Lake and Reservoir levels are largely at or slightly below guides for the fall drawdown period, with latest levels on track with recent forecasts. Image Caption: USGS 7-day average streamflow HUC map valid November 25, 2025. Agricultural Impacts Soils remain quite dry across the area, particularly south of the fall line where values are very dry. (Image right). A more active weather pattern in the last 7 days has allowed for new rainfall over far north and northwest Georgia, but this rain did not make it far enough south to improve conditions over central and south Georgia. (Image far right). Image Captions: Left: 0-200cm Relative Soil Moisture from NASA SPoRT valid November 25, 2025 Right: 0-200 cm Relative Soil Moisture 2-week Change from NASA SPoRT valid through November 25, 2025 Fire Hazard Impacts Keetch Byram Drought Index values are above 400 across much of Georgia, and are as high as 650+ in portions of central and south Georgia. At this time, normal wildland fire potential is expected for December 2025, as indicated in the Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook (far right). The Wildfire Potential Outlook for next week indicates Low Risk (level 2 of 3) for Georgia, with multiple counties are discouraging burning of leaf and yard waste. Image Captions: Above: Significant Wildland Fire Potential Monthly Outlook for December 2025 Left: Keetch Byram Drought Index for November 25, 2025. Link to Wildfire Potential Outlooks from the National Interagency Coordination Center. Seven-Day Precipitation Forecast The 7-day outlook (through 7am Wed, December 3): A more active pattern has the potential to provide widespread meaningful rainfall to the state. Rain chances increase Sunday night, and continue into Wednesday morning. At this time, Tuesday and Tuesday night offer the highest rainfall amounts. For the 7-days, rainfall amounts are forecast to be 1 to 3 inches, with portions of west central and northeast Georgia forecast to see 2 to 4 inches. Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage For December: Above normal temperatures are expected for north and central Georgia(right). Below-normal precipitation is expected to continue for the southern two-thirds of Georgia, with equal chances of above and below normal precipitation over much of north Georgia (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 February. Drought Information Statements will be updated every two weeks while D2 Severe Drought (or worse) continues in north and central Georgia.