Tropical Storm Beryl brought significant drought relief to northern Florida and southeastern Georgia, but left southwest Georgia extremely dry.
Some areas got in excess of 10 inches of rain. Some portions of southwest Georgia got less than four-tenths of an inch. It's left 18 counties including Dougherty in an exceptional drought and others just a step better in an extreme drought.
The first of June brings a greater potential for drenching rain from tropical weather to south Georgia with the start of the Atlantic hurricane season. Last June it brought record breaking heat, making it the hottest June ever. With a lack of rainfall recharge over the winter months the aquifers are already depleted.
"We're beginning the season or began the season lower, with lower water levels in the ground water and so you start using them again and they go even lower obviously," said Doug Wilson, Georgia Water Planning & Policy Center Executive Director.
Right now farmers are running their irrigation pivots longer to finish off their corn crop and ensure cotton and peanuts that just went in, make it.
"Corn is needing a lot of water right now and we're beginning to have to water the other main which are probably cotton and peanuts a little bit more," said Wilson.
If temperatures escalate like last June, farmers maybe forced to run the pivots faster through the field simply to cool the crop to not lose their yields. It all pulls water from a depleted source. You can clearly see ground water like the Flint River is at an all time record low for this day in history. It's a trend water policy officials continue to track over the last decade.
"We had a drought in 1999, 2000, 2001, and part of '02, '05 was really the only wet period up until now between '99 and now that was an exceptionally wet year," said Wilson.
But dramatically dry conditions in 2007, and 2011 have left areas like the Chickasawhatchee Wildlife Management Area dry. Those who lowered well pumps last year, may fair better this year. As dry conditions persist it could prove troublesome if we did get a high volume of rainfall in a short period of time, with the ground as hard and dry as it is.
"It just can't take as much as its receiving and it winds up heading toward low lying areas," said Jim Vaught, Deputy EMA Director.
Creating a flash flood issue. Farmers may almost welcome it at this point, because it would mean some relief, from the exceptionally dry conditions.
The seasonal drought outlook shows south Georgia's drought will continue, but could show some improvement.
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