Local

Hermine Quenches Drought In South Ga., Leaves North Thirsty

September 8th, 2016

Winds and rain from Hurricane Hermine approach Highway 80 that leads to Tybee Island, Ga., Friday, Sept. 2, 2016. Hermine was downgraded to a tropical storm after it made landfall, as it moves over Georgia, but the U.S. National Hurricane Center says winds are increasing along the Southeast coast and flooding rains continue. (AP Photo/Stephen … Continued

Stephen B. Morton / Associated Press

Last week, Tropical Storm Hermine gave South and Central Georgia a good soaking. But all that rain didn’t alleviate the situation around Atlanta.

The latest update from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows Georgia as a kind of a “tale of two states” said Jordan McLeod, regional climatologist at the Southeast Regional Climate Center.

“Her rainfall really helped portions of central and southern Georgia,” said McLeod. “The problem is that where the epicenter of where the drought is in Georgia is in northern Georgia.”

Most Atlanta-area counties are experiencing either extreme or severe drought conditions.

“I was kind of hoping that Hermine, if she would have tracked just a little more to the north and west, that could have been what we call a drought-busting tropical cyclone,” said McLeod.

While the drought conditions are here, actually declaring a drought, and potentially triggering water use restrictions, is up to the state’s Environmental Protection Division.

You can see a before and after comparison from the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln below.

The graphic shows a comparison of areas in Georgia experiencing drought conditions last week and this week. Credit: The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC-UNL.