Drought — Jefferson, Georgia

2016-11-01 to 2016-11-30 · Jefferson, Georgia

Wider weather episode

The D4 Exceptional drought conditions rapidly worsened over Georgia through the month of November. By the end of the month, all but two counties in north and central Georgia were in the D2 Severe to D4 Exceptional drought area. The drought conditions were greatly impacted by well below rainfall for the month, particularly across southern and eastern portions of the state. These areas only received 25 percent or less of the normal November rainfall.

The area was so dry, in fact, that Atlanta ended the record-breaking 43 days of no measurable rainfall on November 29. The previous record was in 1884. Rome broke the record with 61 days of no measurable rainfall on November 28 (previously set in 1897). The rainfall deficit for the previous 6 months worsened to 13 to 16 inches below normal across north and central Georgia.

The D2 Severe to D4 Extreme drought conditions encompassed an area north and west of a line from McRae, to Swainsboro, to Augusta. Although the drought conditions were at the peak at the end of November, the drought persisted through the end of the year and into 2017.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 672006. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.