Drought — Telfair, Georgia

2016-12-01 to 2016-12-31 · Telfair, Georgia

Wider weather episode

The D4 Exceptional drought conditions improved slightly over Georgia through the month of December as a more active atmospheric pattern set up over the region. The most significant improvement occurred over the southern Atlanta metropolitan area, with some portions of Coweta, Fayette, Clayton, and Henry counties improving from the D4 Exceptional to D2 Severe drought level. Far north Georgia counties along the Tennessee border also improved from D4 Exceptional to D3 Extreme drought. Elsewhere across north and central Georgia, the drought persisted through the month with little to no improvement.

At the end of the year, annual normal rainfall departures were generally 9 to 15 inches across north Georgia, and 1 to 6 inches across central Georgia. Lake levels were heavily impacted by the drought with Lake Lanier and Carters Lake nearly 10 feet below seasonal pool levels. Although the drought conditions peaked in November, the long term drought persisted into 2017.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 672081. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.