Drought Information Statement for Southeast Alabama, Southwest Georgia, and the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend
Valid October 16, 2025
Issued By: National Weather Service Tallahassee
Contact Information: kelly.godsey@noaa.gov & cameron.young@noaa.gov 
This product will be updated October 23, 2025.  
Please see all currently available products at https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements.
Please visit https://www.weather.gov/tae/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. 
Extreme and severe drought has expanded across the Tri-State area.
Recent warm temperatures, low humidity, and much below normal rainfall have led to rapid deterioration of drought conditions.
Little to no improvement in drought conditions are expected due to limited forecast rainfall.

U.S. Drought Monitor
Severe to extreme drought has developed across the Tri-State area as a result of flash drought from very warm high temperatures, low humidity, and lack of rainfall over the last 2 months.

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): along the I-10 corridor and parts of south GA
D2 (Severe Drought): much of the FL Panhandle and Big Bend, much of southwest and south central GA east of the Flint River, and the Pea River basin in southeast AL
D1 (Moderate Drought): the rest of south GA and southeast AL and the southeast FL Big Bend.
D0 (Abnormally Dry): southern Dixie County

Recent Change in Drought Intensity
Significant rapid drying attributed to flash drought has occurred across much of the area over the last month or two.
One-Week Drought Monitor Class Change:
1-Category Degradation: much of the FL Panhandle and Big Bend into southeast AL and southwest GA
No Change: much of the rest of the area
1-Category Improvement: a small portion of northeast Berrien and southeast Irwin Counties.

Precipitation
Last 30 Days Rainfall and Percent of Normal Rainfall
DeFuniak Springs (courtesy of University of Florida): 0.29 inches, 6.4%
Geneva: 2.60 inches, 59.7%
Panama City (ECP Airport): 2.87 inches, 66.7%
Dothan: 1.95 inches, 65.8%
Marianna: 1.10 inches, 31.0%
Apalachicola: 1.39 inches, 30.8%
Georgetown (courtesy of University of Georgia): 1.10 inches, 32.2%
Dawson (courtesy of University of Georgia): 1.36 inches, 40.7%
Arlington (courtesy of University of Georgia): 0.51 inches, 14.5%
Albany: 0.83 inches, 29.3%
Cairo (courtesy of University of Georgia): 0.69 inches, 19.0%
Tallahassee: 1.01 inches, 24.7%
Moultrie (courtesy of University of Georgia): 1.31 inches, 36.4%
Monticello (courtesy of University of Florida): 0.98 inches, 22.7%
Ty Ty (courtesy of University of Georgia): 0.71 inches, 19.9%
Alapaha (courtesy of University of Georgia): 1.74 inches, 48.7%
Valdosta: 0.67 inches, 17.1%
Perry (courtesy of Suwannee River Water Management District): 4.75 inches, 122.6%
Mayo (courtesy of University of Florida): 1.97 inches, 47.8%

Last 45 Days Rainfall and Percent of Normal Rainfall
DeFuniak Springs (courtesy of University of Florida): 0.29 inches, 4.0%
Geneva: 3.45 inches, 49.8%
Panama City (ECP Airport): 2.87 inches, 41.6%
Dothan: 2.53 inches, 54.0%
Marianna: 1.10 inches, 19.6%
Apalachicola: 1.44 inches, 19.8%
Georgetown (courtesy of University of Georgia): 1.10 inches, 20.4%
Dawson (courtesy of University of Georgia): 1.37 inches, 25.7%
Arlington (courtesy of University of Georgia): 0.52 inches, 9.2%
Albany: 0.83 inches, 18.2%
Cairo (courtesy of University of Georgia): 0.69 inches, 11.8%
Tallahassee: 1.01 inches, 15.3%
Moultrie (courtesy of University of Georgia): 1.31 inches, 22.8%
Monticello (courtesy of University of Florida): 0.99 inches, 14.0%
Ty Ty (courtesy of University of Georgia): 0.71 inches, 12.4%
Alapaha (courtesy of University of Georgia): 1.74 inches, 30.2%
Valdosta: 0.94 inches, 15.5%
Perry (courtesy of Suwannee River Water Management District): 4.86 inches, 76.5%
Mayo (courtesy of University of Florida): 2.08 inches, 30.5%

Climatology for non-NWS stations is estimated using PRISM data.

Temperature
High temperatures over the last 30 days have been a couple degrees above average with lows near to above average for this time of year.
The low humidity combined with the warm days have contributed to the rapid drying.

Image Captions: 
Last 30 Days
Average High (Departure)
Average Low (Departure)
Tallahassee
88.6° (+2.8°)
65.7° (+0.6°)
Apalachicola
85.3° (+1.2°)
67.6° (-0.3°)
Albany
87.5° (+2.7°)
65.6° (+2.2°)
Valdosta
86.3° (+1.7°)
65.1° (+2.9°)
Marianna
88.8° (+3.3°)
65.1° (+0.9°)
Dothan
87.9° (+2.6°)
64.2° (+1.4°)

Summary of Impacts
Hydrologic Impacts 
Streamflows across the area are below to much below normal for this time of year. This includes even our mainstem rivers, such as the Choctawhatchee, Chattahoochee, Flint, Apalachicola, Ochlockonee, Withlacoochee, and Suwannee.

Agricultural Impacts
Alabama: farmers are reporting dry pastures and needing to feed hay to cattle as well as drying ponds
Georgia: farmers are reporting extremely dry pastures and dried up ponds. Concerns are growing over peanut crop loss from the inability to dig and from potential low-quality yields.

Fire Hazard Impacts
Keetch-Byram Drought Index values over 600 for southeast AL, southwest GA, and far western FL Panhandle. Some pockets in the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend are over 700.
Calhoun County, FL is under a burn ban.
The Alabama Forestry Commission has issued a statewide Fire Danger Advisory.

Other Impacts
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs Office of Water Resources (ADECA OWR) has declared a Drought Watch for Drought Region 8, which includes Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry, and Houston Counties. ADECA’s latest Drought Declaration can be found at https://adeca.alabama.gov/wp-content/uploads/DroughtDeclaration.pdf.

Mitigation Actions
Please refer to your municipality and/or water provider for mitigation information.

Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts
Streamflows along many of our area rivers are running below to much below normal over the last month.
While we are now in our dry season, streamflows this low are still rather unusual for this time of year.
Even our larger mainstem rivers are suffering from the low flows.

Agricultural Impacts
Soils are quite dry across the forecast area
Drying has continued and will likely continue given little rainfall over the next week or so.
Farmers in southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia are reporting drying pastures and ponds as well as needing to feed hay to cattle.
Farmers in southwest Georgia are very concerned about peanut losses due to the inability to dig

Fire Hazard Impacts
Keetch-Byram Drought Index values remain at or above 600 in the Tri-State area with some pockets over 700.
Calhoun County, FL has issued a burn ban.
The Alabama Forestry Commission has issued a statewide Fire Danger Advisory.
The Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook for October calls for above normal wildfire activity across southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia in November.

Seven Day Precipitation Forecast
A couple of cold fronts move through the area during the next 7 days with the best chance of rain arriving Sunday.
However, rainfall amounts are likely to be light with most areas seeing less than a tenth of an inch.
Precipitation outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center:
6-10 day outlook (10/22-10/26): leaning below normal
8-14 day outlook (10/24-10/30): equal chances of above, near, or below normal

Image Caption: Weather Prediction Center 7-day precipitation forecast valid Wednesday, October 16, 2025 through Tuesday, October 23, 2025
Use a polygon to highlight your region if using this WPC QPF map. 

Long-Range Outlooks
The next 3 months favor above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation.
The Winter Outlook released by the Climate Prediction Center shows a classic La Nina pattern is most likely, with warmer than normal and drier than normal conditions likely.

November Average Temperature and Rainfall:
Tallahassee: 60.2°, 3.10”
Apalachicola: 62.1°, 3.74”
Albany: 58.7°, 2.94”
Valdosta: 59.0°, 2.47”
Marianna: 59.6°, 3.67”
Dothan: 58.9°, 3.91”

December Average Temperature and Rainfall:
Tallahassee: 54.4°, 4.24”
Apalachicola: 56.5°, 3.59”
Albany: 52.7°, 4.35”
Valdosta: 53.2°, 3.12”
Marianna: 53.9°, 4.81”
Dothan: 53.1°, 4.76”

January Average Temperature and Rainfall:
Tallahassee: 52.2°, 4.41”
Apalachicola: 54.0°, 4.06”
Albany: 50.5°, 4.19”
Valdosta: 50.7°, 3.83”
Marianna: 51.8°, 4.04”
Dothan: 50.8°, 4.76”

Drought Outlook
Drought is likely to persist across the area through the rest of fall into winter due to the anticipated drier-than-normal conditions.