Drought conditions remain across the Big Bend, South Georgia

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - The drought conditions continued throughout the Big Bend and South Georgia, with not much rain expected to ease it in the near term.

The viewing area remained under moderate to severe drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor’s update released on Jan. 5.

Most of the viewing area was under rainfall deficits in December 2022, between 1 to 4 inches, according to Doppler-radar-based data from NOAA.

Tallahassee International Airport, the official reporting station, only received just over 2 inches of rain in December - 2 inches below normal for the month. Meanwhile, Apalachicola was just a quarter-inch above normal, with nearly 4 inches of rain received. Valdosta only received an inch of rain, which was nearly 2 inches below normal.

Through Jan. 8, Valdosta, Tallahassee and Apalachicola were reporting deficits so far for the month.

Drought conditions of this degree last occurred, though brief, in the spring of 2020, Florida State Climatologist David Zierden said in an email to the First Alert Weather team. The years of 2011-2012 were the last major droughts of note in the area which were spread across the Southeast U.S.

The current La Niña pattern usually brings warmer and drier conditions to the Southeast than normal, but not so much this time around.

“Fortunately, the previous two years have gone against the grain and spared us the widespread development of drought, which can often happen in a multi-year La Nina (like 2010-2012),” Zierden wrote in an email. “It is something to watch as we enter the dry period of April and May [as] evapotranspiration ramps up; drought could worsen before the summer rains.”

Drought conditions are expected to improve through the end of March, according to the Climate Prediction Center’s Seasonal Drought Outlook. In the meantime, long-range ensemble guidance models did not show large-scale patterns that would bring widespread rainfall to the region between Jan. 16 and Jan. 23.

As for impacts, rainfall upstream in Georgia is what has kept the stream flows and water levels in check, according to Zierden. But there were agriculture issues in recent months.

“There were some problems with pasture and grazing this fall and the establishment of winter pasture for livestock. Since then, we have had just enough rainfall to keep things OK,” Zierden said. “Spring planting season will be a concern for row crops and also as the wildfire season normally peaks.”

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