Drought Information Statement for Southeast Georgia and
Northeast Florida
Valid April 25, 2025
Issued By: National Weather Service Jacksonville, FL
Contact Information: Jason.Hess@noaa.gov & Kelly.Godsey@noaa.gov

● This product will be updated May 2, 2025 or sooner if drought conditions change significantly.
● Severe to extreme drought now across parts Flagler and Marion
Counties.
● Recent warm and dry conditions have led to rapid deterioration of
drought conditions.
● Little to no rainfall is expected over the next several days.

U.S. Drought Monitor
● Severe to extreme drought has developed across
northeast Florida, mainly in Marion and Flagler
Counties.
● Keep in mind that rainfall that fell after 7 AM ET
Tuesday is not accounted for in this week’s
drought monitor.
● Drought intensity and Extent
○ D3 (Extreme Drought): across southeast
Marion County, FL
○ D2 (Severe Drought): across Central Marion
County, FL eastward into Flagler County, FL
○ D1 (Moderate Drought): across the
remainder of Marion County, FL eastward
through southeastern Putnam County, FL
and into southern St Johns County, FL
○ D0 (Abnormally Dry): across the remainder
of the Jacksonville forecast area.

Recent Change in Drought Intensity
● One Week Drought Monitor Class Change:
○ Drought Worsened: across much of
Southeastern Georgia and Northeastern
Florida.
○ Drought Improved: No portion of the
area has shown improvement.
○ No Change: Along the Altamaha River
Basin in Southeast Georgia and the lower
Santa Fe Basin in Northeast Florida.

Temperature
● Temperatures have been on a
warming trend over the last week
● For the month of April, temperatures
were much above normal at the first
of the month and have been
trending above normal over the last
7 days.

Summary of Impacts
● While most rivers remain at above normal flow over the last 14-28 days, some localized low flow conditions are
already present in the upper Santa Fe Basin and in the Black Creek Basin.
● Real time flow conditions are trending below normal across the entire area due to lack of rainfall.
Agricultural Impacts
● Florida: none reported last 7 days
● Georgia: none reported last 7 days

Fire Hazard Impacts
● Keetch-Byram Drought Index values in the 400-600 range in Marion, Putnam, and Flagler Counties. Values decrease
into the 200-400 range (highest south) while moving into Southeast Georgia.
● A county burn ban is in effect for Flagler County.
● Several active wildfires are present in Northeast Florida, especially in Putnam and Flagler Counties.
Mitigation Actions
● Please refer to your municipality and/or water provider for mitigation information.

Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts
● Streamflows across the Altamaha River remain at
normal levels for this time of year.
● Lower end normal to below normal conditions are
appearing in streamflows across the Upper Santa
Fe Basin and Black Creek Basin.
● Over the near term, non-tidal river levels are
expected to continue decreasing with the lack of
widespread heavy rainfall.

Agricultural Impacts
● Soils are quite dry across
southeast Georgia and
northeast Florida.
● Soils have been drying
across the majority of our
area given the hot, dry
conditions recently.

Fire Hazard Impacts
● Keetch-Byram Drought
Index values are increasing
across the region and are
highest in Marion, Putnam,
and Flagler County where
localized spots are above
600. Values decrease into
the 200-400 range
(highest south) across the
forecast area.
● The outlook for May calls
for above normal wildfire
potential across Northeast
Florida and Coastal SE

Seven Day Precipitation Forecast
● Isolated showers and thunderstorms
are possible late this weekend and
into early next week, however,
widespread heavy rainfall is not
expected.
● Most areas will likely remain rain-free
through the next seven days.

Long-Range Outlooks

● The next 3 months favor above normal
temperatures and slightly above
normal precipitation. This increased
precipitation signal is likely tied to start
of the summer seabreeze season in
June, which starts the rainy season in
SE Georgia and NE Florida.

Drought Outlook

● Through May, drought is expected to persist or
even worsen across the region.
● With the expected start of the rainy season in
June, drought improvement is indicated by the
end of July.