ATLANTA — Drought persists across north Georgia heading into the end of July. In the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, released July 18, parts of Fulton, Cobb, Douglas, Cherokee, Bartow, and Paulding counties remain in a Level 2 'severe' drought.
Additionally, portions of far north Georgia, from Dade County to Towns and Union Counties, are in this extreme drought.
The lack of rainfall in May and June and hot weather created a 'flash drought' here in north Georgia and across other parts of the southeast and Carolinas. This happens when a drought develops quickly, often due to very hot and dry conditions.
The latest drought update is based on data collected and analyzed on Tuesday, July 16th. Currently, 5.7% of the state is in a severe drought, and over 35% is in a moderate drought, including much of the 11 Alive area.
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Over the last week, we have not seen a great change in the overall drought picture. Some additional areas in the north Georgia mountains have been placed in drought, and the Level 2 drought did expand up by the Tennessee and North Carolina state lines.
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This July, we did have some decent rainfall around the July 4 weekend. But the last week alone was fairly hot and dry. To date, Atlanta has received 3.56" of rain. We are running slightly above normal through July 17. July is Atlanta's wettest month on average, based on climatological data. We still have a rain surplus for the year.
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Looking ahead, the area will experience high humidity, scattered showers daily, and storms over the next week. Although rain totals will vary widely from location to location, most places should receive at least 1 inch of rain by mid-next week.
Rain amounts could be much higher than that across far north Georgia. Some models forecast 3 to 5 inches of rain through next Wednesday.
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Our drought may not be wiped out in one week, but this week, as we head through the back half of July, shows potential for some improvements.
With repeated rounds of tropical downpours, there will be a low risk for excessive rainfall and street/creek flooding in the next 7 days. The Weather Prediction Center has placed parts of north Georgia in a 'Marginal' risk of flooding through Monday.