April 8, 2026
www.gfb.org
Vol. 8 No. 7
EXTREME DROUGHT CONDITIONS PERSIST OVER MUCH OF GEORGIA While some parts of Georgia got rain over Easter weekend, according to UGA Extension Climatologist Pam Knox, any relief it provided will be short-lived. “The wettest area will be in eastern Florida where there is the potential for low pressure to develop off the East Coast and draw some moisture into the Florida Peninsula,” Knox wrote in her Climate and Agriculture in the Southeast blog post from April 5. “Most of the rest of the region will be under high pressure and is not expected to get much if any rain. If you look at the longerrange models out to 384 hours (April 21), all of the models show the same general pattern with slight variations about where the driest conditions will be.” The U.S. Drought Monitor’s (USDM) April 2 drought map showed all of Georgia in some stage of drought starting with abnormally dry, the USDM’s label for the least severe drought stage. Most of the state is experiencing much more severe dry conditions. Twenty-five counties in South Georgia are in Exceptional Drought, the most severe drought stage. Another 86 counties, covering the entire Coastal Plain and much of the North Georgia mountains, are in Extreme Drought, the second-most severe stage. A time-series graphic provided by the USDM shows how current drought conditions are shaping up against previous years since 2000. Once on the landing page change the Area Type tab from national to state and then select Georgia in the next tab labeled Area. The dry conditions are already having effects on Georgia farms. “Since August, we probably haven't had over four inches of rain. The last significant rain we had was about a month ago, just out of the blue. We got an inch and six tenths, but it didn't even register. It didn't last,” said Daniel Johnson, a Pierce County row crop farmer in deep Southeast Georgia. “Right now, we're having to irrigate ahead of planting corn and behind planting corn.” Johnson says he’s having to irrigate at least a half inch of water to plant his corn crop and at least a half an inch after planting to get the seed to germinate and come up. He’s relying on deep wells to irrigate his crop. In Screven County, located in upper Southeast Georgia on the South Carolina line, Ben Boyd said his dad, Olin, says the farm is as dry as he’s ever seen it this time of year. “We had about a half inch, probably four weeks ago, but we hadn't had any significant rain since probably last October. I bet you, we hadn't had two inches of rain since last October,” Boyd said.