When you hear the word “drought,” you probably
think of the dog days of summer and dry weather conditions. Well, it’s May,
and Georgia is in a drought.
“Usually, we aren’t concerned about drought conditions
in May, but that’s the situation we’re in this year,” said David
Stooksbury, state climatologist and professor of engineering at the University
of Georgia. “A drought isn’t just a summer condition. It can happen any
time of year, as we are seeing now.”
Drought Explained
Stooksbury said weather researchers don’t determine
drought conditions based just on how much it has rained. “We use the Palmer
Drought Severity Index, which is a measure that takes into account temperature,
precipitation, soil conditions and antecedent soil moisture,” he said.“The major concern now,” he said, “is that the
soil moisture reserve is virtually depleted, particularly in the southern
third of the state.”The soil moisture was high last spring. “Last
year, the soil moisture reserve was there. And crops and trees could tap into
it when the weather turned dry during the early summer,” Stooksbury said.Last spring’s soil moisture reserve was depleted
during the summer, though, causing agricultural losses in the millions of
dollars. The soil moisture wasn’t recharged last winter, as it normally is.
“This year’s crops won’t have a reserve to tap into,” he said.
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| GEORGIA’S CLIMATE ZONES help scientists determine when an area is in a drought. Each zone has a distinct weather pattern, including rainfall amounts, temperature ranges and prevailing winds. |
Long-term Dry Conditions
Stooksbury said the state’s drought conditions
have developed over the past 12 months. “Droughts don’t develop like an afternoon
thunderstorm,” he said. “It takes months.”“It was dry in Georgia this winter before people
started thinking about it being dry,” he said. “It’s important to realize
that a few days of rain aren’t going to get us out of a drought. It didn’t
happen overnight. It’s not going to disappear overnight.”
Climate Regions
Georgia is divided into nine climate regions:
northeast, north central, northwest, east central, central, west central,
southeast, south central and southwest.According to the Palmer Drought Index, the entire
state is in a drought. “We’re seeing moderate to severe drought conditions
across the state,” Stooksbury said.
