By Clint Thompson
The prolonged drought that lingered across the Southeast is still being observed in parts of Alabama, Florida and Georgia; just to a lesser extent.
The most recent release of the U.S. Drought Monitor shows dry areas still present in all three states.
Pam Knox, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension agricultural climatologist, talked about the drought and how long she expects it to be a problem.
“We’re not out of the woods yet because summer, it’s a hard time to break a drought, just because it’s so hot and so humid and the rainfall tends to be so scattered,” Knox said. “I think with the strong El Niño that’s coming, we are likely to be very wet over the winter. I think the drought is not likely to last through the winter like it did last year. But that’s a long ways before we really get to those fall El Niño rains. We could still see some drought conditions over the rest of the summer.
“Usually, fall is the driest time of year, and a lot of farmers like that. They like the dry conditions for harvest of cotton and peanuts and so on; as long as it’s not so dry that the ground gets crusty. One thing they have to watch is that if the El Niño is strong and the El Niño rains come on early. If the crops are delayed and they’re counting on being able to harvest into November, there’s a chance that it could be really rainy by then.”