Drought Information Statement for North and Central Georgia Valid December 24, 2025 Issued By: NWS Atlanta / Peachtree City, GA Contact Information: sr-ffc.webmaster@noaa.gov This product will be updated January 8, 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.weather.gov/ffc/drought for additional resources. SEVERE DROUGHT IMPROVES IN CENTRAL GEORGIA, MODERATE DROUGHT WORSENS OVER NORTH GEORGIA Rainfall in the last 14 days improved drought conditions over central Georgia, cutting back Severe Drought to generally west central Georgia. Recent dry conditions have led to an expansion of the Moderate Drought over far north 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): None. D2 (Severe Drought): Chattahoochee, Crawford, Harris, Houston, Macon, Marion, Meriwether, Muscogee, Peach, Schley, Talbot, Taylor, Upson D1 (Moderate Drought): Baldwin, Banks, Bartow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Crisp, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Dodge, Dooly, Douglas, Emanuel, Fannin, Fayette, Floyd, Forsyth, Gilmer, Glascock, Gordon, Greene, Gwinnett, Hall, Hancock, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Lamar, Laurens, Lumpkin, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Murray, Newton, North Fulton, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Pike, Polk, Pulaski, Putnam, Rockdale, South Fulton, Spalding, Stewart, Sumter, Taliaferro, Telfair, Toombs, Towns, Treutlen, Troup, Twiggs, Union, Walker, Warren, Washington, Webster, Wheeler, White, Whitfield, Wilcox, Wilkes, Wilkinson D0: (Abnormally Dry): Barrow, Clarke, Jackson, Madison, Oconee, Pickens, Walton 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: Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clarke, Dade, Dawson, Fannin, Floyd, Forsyth, Gilmer, Gordon, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison, Murray, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Pickens, Towns, Union, Walker, White, Whitfield No Change: Baldwin, Butts, Glascock, Greene, Hancock, Haralson, Harris, Jasper, Jones, Morgan, Muscogee, Newton, Paulding, Polk, Talbot, Taliaferro, Warren, Wilkes Drought Improved: Bibb, Bleckley, Chattahoochee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Crawford, Crisp, DeKalb, Dodge, Dooly, Douglas, Emanuel, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Heard, Henry, Houston, Jefferson, Johnson, Lamar, Laurens, Marion, Meriwether, Montgomery, Peach, Pike, Pulaski, Rockdale, Schley, Spalding, Stewart, Sumter, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen, Troup, Twiggs, Upson, Washington, Webster, Wheeler, Wilcox, Wilkinson Precipitation - Past 30 Days Over the last 30 days, rainfall over Georgia has generally ranged from 1.5 to 4 inches (30 to 75 percent of normal), with isolated areas of western Georgia receiving 3 to 6 inches (90 to 120 percent of normal). Rain has generally occurred over 1-2 days, with large dry periods in between events. Last 30 Days Last 60 Days Rainfall % Normal Rainfall % Normal Rome (KRMG) 2.36" 49% 5.25" 60% Athens (KAHN) 2.29" 57% 5.52" 73% Peachtree-DeKalb (KPDK) 2.67" 64% 5.9" 74% Fulton County (KFTY) 2.52" 64% 5.71" 76% Atlanta (KATL) 2.13" 50% 7.04" 87% Peachtree City (KFFC) 3.46" 83% 6.03" 77% Macon (KMCN) 2.21" 54% 3.09" 44% Columbus (KCSG) 2.65" 59% 3.55" 45% The Additional Rainfall Information product (MISATL) is available online at weather.gov/ffc. Through Tuesday, December 23, at 8 AM: Temperatures - Past 30 Days Over the 30 day period ending December 19 (left image), high temperatures over north and central Georgia were near to slightly below normal across the area. The table includes the average low temperature trends for the 30 day period, which were also near normal for most climate locations. For the 7 days ending December 19 (right image) high temperatures generally 1 to 3 degrees above normal. Last 30 Days Average High (Departure) Average Low (Departure) Rome (KRMG) 60.3° (+1.8°) 38.9° (+3.2°) Athens (KAHN) 58.3° (-1.1°) 37.9° (-0.1°) Peachtree-DeKalb (KPDK) 58.8° (+1.1°) 37.4° (+0.1°) Fulton County (KFTY) 57.7° (-1.1°) 35.7° (-1.2°) Atlanta (KATL) 58.7° (-0.3°) 40.4° (+0.1°) Peachtree City (KFFC) 58.2° (-1.8°) 36.3° (+0.5°) Macon (KMCN) 61.9° (-1.8°) 38.0° (-0.8°) Columbus (KCSG) 60.8° (-2.4°) 41.6° (-0.4°) Through December 19*. *Note, the table values are for the period November 20-December 19, 2025, matching the latency for the 30-day and 7-day max temperature anomaly images (right). Summary of Impacts Links: See/submit Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) and view the Drought Impacts Reporter (DIR) Hydrologic Impacts Light rain and cooler conditions have allowed soil moistures to rebound slightly, but the hydrologic environment worsened over the last 7 days. The 7-day streamflow averages statewide are very dry for this time of year, with most basins in the Much Below Normal to Below Normal categories. See slide 7 for additional details. Agricultural Impacts Harvesting has completed, and though some farmers have reported supplemental feeding is needed, cover crops have been planted for grazing. Water sources (e.g., holding ponds) remain low or mostly dry in many areas. The Crop Progress & Condition report is available through November. Fire Hazard Impacts Wildfire risk continues to be high enough that leaf and yard waste burning continues to be discouraged, despite the improvements in soil moisture and recent rainfall. 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. fiResponse - Public Viewer Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts Main Takeaways Streamflows have struggled to recover even with the cooler temperatures and occasional rainfall. Most basins have Much Below Normal to Below Normal streamflows. The lowest percentile classes are present in the Middle Chattahoochee and Upper Flint River Basins. Some Normal streamflows are present in the Coosa, lower Flint, lower Ocmulgee and Ogeechee River Basins. Lake and Reservoir levels reflect a combination of the winter drawdown period and the persistent dry conditions. The available elevation curves for USACE projects in the NWS Peachtree City area show: *Action zones used in some charts are defined here. Image Caption: USGS 7-day average streamflow HUC map valid December 22, 2025. USACE Lakes Current Action Zone Forecast Action Zone Carters Zone 1 Zone 2 Lanier Zone 2 Zone 3 Allatoona Top of Conservation Zone 3 West Point Top of Conservation Zone 1 Agricultural Impacts Though soil moisture has recovered over north Georgia, soils remain quite dry across the central and eastern Georgia (image right). A more active weather pattern in the last week provided sufficient rainfall over central Georgia to show improvement in soil moisture (image far right). Image Captions: Left: 0-200cm Relative Soil Moisture from NASA SPoRT valid December 24, 2025. Right: 0-200 cm Relative Soil Moisture 2-week Change from NASA SPoRT valid through December 24, 2025 Fire Hazard Impacts Keetch Byram Drought Index values remain low over northeast Georgia, but have started to increase over portions of central Georgia where values of 400-550 are common. At this time, normal wildland fire potential is expected for the northwestern two-thirds of Georgia for January 2026, as indicated in the Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook (far right). South and east central Georgia have an above normal wildland fire potential. Image Captions: Above: Significant Wildland Fire Potential Monthly Outlook for January 2026. Left: Keetch Byram Drought Index for December 23, 2025. Link to Wildfire Potential Outlooks from the National Interagency Coordination Center. The Wildfire Potential Outlook for next week indicates Little or No Risk (level 1 of 3) for north Georgia, and Low Risk (level 2 of 3) for east central Georgia. Seven-Day Precipitation Forecast The 7-day outlook (through Tuesday, December 30): Over the next seven days, rain is only forecast Sunday and Sunday night as a cold front impacts Georgia. Rainfall amounts are limited with this front, with the current amounts expected to be under 0.25 inches, and generally along and north of I-85. Isolated amounts to 0.50 inches are possible over far north Georgia. Rapid Onset Drought Outlook Links to the latest Climate Prediction Center 8 to 14 day Temperature Outlook and Precipitation Outlook. No rapid onset drought is expected for any area in the Southeast U.S. For the next 8 to 14 days, above normal temperatures and above normal precipitation are expected for Georgia. Image Caption: Days 8 to 14 U.S. Hazards Outlook Valid October 27-November 2, 2023 Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage For January: Above normal temperatures are expected for north and central Georgia (right). Near normal conditions are expected over north Georgia, while below normal precipitation is expected for the southern two-thirds of Georgia (far right). Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Drought is expected to persist or develop through Winter. Drought Information Statements will be updated every two weeks while D2 Severe Drought (or worse) continues in north and central Georgia.