Most of Georgia Still in Drought, Despite Rain

The recent rain in Georgia has boosted some lake levels in the northern part of the state. However, most of the state is still in a drought.There are five levels of drought, with “extreme” and “exceptional” drought being the two most severe. State climatologist Bill Murphey says despite the recent rain, at least 70% of the state still falls into one of those two categories.

“The areas that really needed the most rainfall as far as being worse-off long-term didn’t receive it,” he says, “So, it helped short-term wise in places, but most of south Georgia didn’t really benefit that much.”

The areas around Augusta, Macon, and Athens are suffering the most. Murphey says they’d benefit from a tropical storm system.

“They’re slow-moving typically once they move inland and they give good, copious amounts of rainfall,” Murphey explains.

But, he says, the chances of getting one are slim. Murphey says it’s likely the drought will intensify throughout the summer months.