More than half of Georgia is still in extreme drought despite recent rain

Georgia’s drought is slowly getting better after a week of steady rain — but more than half the state is still in extreme or exceptional drought, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Drought Monitor.

What’s happening: The worst drought conditions have pulled back in parts of north and central Georgia over the past week. Even so, about 56% of the state is still in extreme or exceptional drought, and nearly the entire state — about 99.9% — is in some level of drought.

By the numbers: The drought monitor rates conditions on a scale from D0 to D4. D0 means abnormally dry. D4, the worst level, means exceptional drought — the kind that causes widespread crop failures and water shortages. Here is where Georgia stands right now:

• About 99.9% of the state is in some level of drought
• About 56% is in extreme drought (D3) or worse
• About 22% is in the most severe category, exceptional drought (D4)

How bad it has gotten: A year ago, nearly 90% of Georgia had no drought at all. By the start of this year, about 38% of the state was in severe drought or worse. The drought has grown sharply since then.

What’s still a problem: Recent rain has helped, but rainfall over the past several months is still well below normal. The ground below the surface is still dry, which means the recent rain has not yet reached where it is needed most.

The path forward: Heavy rain is possible Friday and Saturday, and wet weather is expected to continue into early next week. But the months-long rainfall shortfall means the drought is unlikely to recover quickly, even if the wet pattern holds.