By Clint Thompson
Drought across the Southeast region continues to expand and worsen, according to the April 2 release of the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The driest part of the region is located in South Georgia and North Florida with exceptional drought conditions being reported. Extreme drought expands from South Georgia to the central part of the state, while the eastern part of Alabama is also observing similar conditions. Extreme drought also encompasses most of Florida, especially in the southern part of the state.
Pam Knox, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension agricultural climatologist, discussed the drought conditions which she insists are abnormal for this time of year.
“Usually, when I think of this kind of drought, I think of it more in terms of fall drought. Then we have the warm temperatures, and we’ve had all summer to dry out. It’s unusual to have these dry conditions so early in the year,” Knox said. “Winter is usually the time of year when we’re recharging soil moisture, but we didn’t have this La Nina last year. Really, I think you can trace this all the way back to last summer, because we didn’t have any tropical storms. Usually, we get rain from tropical storms and that helps wet things up and improve things going into the winter season.
“We didn’t get that this year.”