ATLANTA — It has been a summer of extremes when it comes to rainfall in north Georgia. Last month was Atlanta's 4th driest August on record, and it's starting to show on the drought monitor.
All of North Georgia is at least "abnormally dry," and areas of "moderate" drought are expanding through the mountains and southwest of the metro. Slivers of "severe" drought have even developed in far NW Georgia and west of Albany.
While this may not seem like a huge change, 64% of the state is now experiencing at least "abnormally dry" conditions.
It has been a yo-yo on the drought monitor. Georgia was drought-free at the end of May following a wet winter and the start of spring. By July, 96% of the state was in some form of drought.
A wet July—the fourth wettest on record for Atlanta—helped erase much of the drought. Now, however, with less than an inch of rain during the month of August, drought is starting to creep back across the state.
Rain is back in the forecast for the end of the week, but it likely won't help the drought monitor much.
