By Clint Thompson
The lack of tropical systems this summer and early fall contributed to extreme and exceptional drought designations across some areas in the Southeast.
Pam Knox, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension agricultural climatologist, highlighted the current drought period that includes exceptional drought areas in South Georgia and North Florida.
“It was pretty wet early in the growing season last year, and in fact, it was so wet that some farmers had trouble getting into their fields. Then we hit mid-August, and the rains just stopped,” Knox said. “Part of the problem there was the tropical rain that we might normally get, all those tropical storms were diverted off to the Northeast. So we really didn’t have any tropical rain this summer.
“Typically, in Georgia about 30% to 35% of the summer rain is from tropical systems; not necessarily from named storms but storms that are coming out of the tropics. We didn’t get any of that this year. Even though I think we’re happy we didn’t get those tropical storms, we did end up in this really dry condition. We have just not been able to break down that high pressure that’s been parked over the area. We’ve had a few fronts that have gone through, but they’ve been mostly dry.”
Knox said the same tropical activity that Georgia depends on for soil moisture can be applied to neighboring states like Florida and Alabama.
“It certainly extends beyond the state lines to the adjacent parts of the other states,” Knox said.
Last Exceptional Drought in Southeast
Knox added that the last time that D4 (exceptional) drought was observed in Southwest Georgia was January 2012. Extreme drought extends further east in Georgia, southward into Florida and into the eastern region of Alabama. Knox said she would not be surprised if dry conditions worsen in this part of the Southeast.
“It would not surprise me because I don’t see a chance of any significant rain, and I think that temperatures for the most part are going to stay at or above normal for a lot of the next month,” Knox said.