ATLANTA — A rapid-onset drought has quickly been resolved over most of north Georgia.
In the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, released Aug. 8, all of the metro area is no longer in drought. There are still some areas that are considered "abnormally dry."
This is a good improvement from one week ago, when we still had the northern side of the metro in a moderate drought.
Drought Monitors are released every Thursday morning, and are based on data the previous week, ending Tuesday mornings.
July rainfall at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was the fourth-highest on record for that month, with a grand total of 14.02 inches of rain.
You can see as the rain added up weekly, the area in the state experiencing drought tapered off fairly quickly.
Now, just 20% of the state is in a moderate drought, with no areas experiencing "extreme" drought.
Although we're in a good place at present, August has started very dry, so the pendulum could eventually swing the other way if rain prospects don't increase.
