Record Breaking Heat in Georgia and Alabama June 29 thru July 1 2012

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
0432 PM EDT SUN JUL 01 2012

…RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT COLUMBUS…

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 105 DEGREES WAS SET AT COLUMBUS SO FAR TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 99 SET IN 2007.

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
0432 PM EDT SUN JUL 01 2012

…RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT ATLANTA…

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 105 DEGREES WAS SET AT ATLANTA SO FAR TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 99 SET IN 1954.

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
0432 PM EDT SUN JUL 01 2012

…RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT MACON…

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 108 DEGREES WAS SET AT MACON SO FAR TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 103 SET IN 1954.

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
0432 PM EDT SUN JUL 01 2012

…RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT ATHENS…

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 108 DEGREES WAS SET AT ATHENS SO FAR TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 103 SET IN 1927.

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RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL
0425 PM CDT SUN JUL 01 2012

…RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT TUSCALOOSA…

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 104 DEGREES WAS SET AT TUSCALOOSA TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 103 SET IN 1954.

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL
0425 PM CDT SUN JUL 01 2012

…RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT BIRMINGHAM…

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 104 DEGREES WAS SET AT BIRMINGHAM TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 103 SET IN 1954.

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL
0425 PM CDT SUN JUL 01 2012

…RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT MONTGOMERY…

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 101 DEGREES WAS SET AT MONTGOMERY TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 100 SET IN 2007.

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL
0425 PM CDT SUN JUL 01 2012

…RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT ANNISTON…

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 104 DEGREES WAS SET AT ANNISTON TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 102 SET IN 1954.

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06-30-2012 Atlanta Hartsfield AP, GA High Maximum Temp All-Time Record 106 °F 105 °F (07-17-1980)

06-30-2012 Columbus Metro AP, GA High Maximum Temp All-Time Record 106 °F 105 °F (06-29-2012)

06-30-2012 Macon Middle Ga AP, GA High Maximum Temp All-Time Record 108 °F 108 °F (07-13-1980)

06-30-2012 Helen, GA High Maximum Temp All-Time Record 102 °F 100 °F (07-20-1986)

06-30-2012 Rome WSO AP, GA High Maximum Temp All-Time Record 107 °F 106 °F (07-17-1980)

06-30-2012 Dallas 7 NE, GA High Maximum Temp All-Time Record 104 °F 104 °F (08-23-2007)

06-30-2012 Sandersville, GA High Maximum Temp All-Time Record 107 °F 107 °F (07-22-1986)

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06-29-2012 Columbus Metro AP, GA High Maximum Temp All-Time Record 105 °F 104 °F (08-10-2007)

06-29-2012 Athens Ben Epps AP, GA High Maximum Temp All-Time Record 109 °F 107 °F (08-21-1983)

06-29-2012 Dekalb Peachtree, GA High Maximum Temp All-Time Record 103 °F 102 °F (08-22-2007)

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06-30-2012 Russellville #2, AL High Maximum Temp All-Time Record 106 °F 106 °F (08-16-2007)

06-30-2012 Muscle Shoals AP, AL High Maximum Temp All-Time Record 107 °F 107 °F (06-29-2012)

06-29-2012 Gadsden, AL High Maximum Temp All-Time Record 105 °F 105 °F (08-16-1954)

06-29-2012 Huntsville Intl AP, AL High Maximum Temp All-Time Record 106 °F 105 °F (08-16-2007)

06-29-2012 Muscle Shoals AP, AL High Maximum Temp All-Time Record 107 °F 107 °F (08-15-2007)

06-29-2012 Bankhead L&d, AL High Maximum Temp All-Time Record 107 °F 107 °F (07-08-1977)

More record breaking heat across the U.S. here

Georgia Drought Update – May 3 2012

As anticipated, the small area of drought improvement in Northeast Georgia last week, is all but gone this week.

Since my last drought update on April 23 2012, it has been quite dry across much of Georgia. Abnormally Dry conditions continue to cover much of North Georgia, with Moderate drought conditions beginning to creep back in.
Severe Drought conditions continue to hold in areas of Southeast and North central Georgia, ever so slowly creeping towards North Georgia.
Extreme Drought conditions now cover a large area of Georgia from North Central to the state line with Florida.
Exceptional Drought conditions, the highest level of drought, has expanded in Central Georgia while other areas experiencing Exceptional Drought in south Georgia remaining unchanged since my last report.

The overall breakdown on drought conditions in Georgia as of May 1 2012 are as follows:

The entire state of Georgia is experiencing Abnormally Dry conditions, 96.50 %, except for a small area mentioned in North GA.
Moderate Drought covers 88.56 % of the state.
Severe Drought covers 84.28 % of the state.
Extreme Drought covers 70.94 % of the state.
Exceptional Drought covers 25.85 % of the state.

Here’s a graphic showing Drought conditions from April 17 thru May 1 2012

To show how dry it has been in Georgia and much of the southeast, here’s a graphic showing how much rain these areas have seen since the beginning of 2012. Notice the areas of Red in Georgia and Florida; these areas have only received 50 to 25 percent of normal rainfall since the start of the year.

To put the above in perspective, here’s a graphic showing departure from normal rainfall from May of 2011 thru April 2012. Much of Georgia is showing a deficit of 8 inches with areas in southwest Georgia pushing the 20 inch below normal mark.

Here’s a look at precipitation or lack of for select areas around the state of Georgia through May 2 2012.

This first table shows total rainfall for the last 365 days:

LOCATION   TOTAL RAINFALL    NORMAL    DEPARTURE     PERCENT
            LAST 365 DAYS    VALUE     FROM NORMAL   OF NORMAL

ATLANTA         32.33        49.74       -17.41        65%
ATHENS          29.11        46.39       -17.28        63%
COLUMBUS        38.40        46.81        -8.41        82%
MACON           28.91        45.75       -16.84        63%

This table shows total rainfall fro the last 90 days:

LOCATION   TOTAL RAINFALL    NORMAL    DEPARTURE     PERCENT
           (LAST 90 DAYS)    VALUE     FROM NORMAL   OF NORMAL

ATLANTA         7.53         12.91        -5.38        58%
ATHENS          5.89         12.12        -6.23        49%
COLUMBUS        7.88         13.52        -5.64        58%
MACON           5.30         11.87        -6.57        45%

At this time it’s looking like drought conditions will continue to expand and intensify for Georgia. I expect the same can be said for much of the southeast as I see no reason at this time not to think this. It appears a summer type pattern has set up early this year with scattered hit and miss showers and storms, and as earlier this week in Georgia, above average and record breaking high temperatures. Showers and storms of this type offer little relief for drought stricken areas, and what little rain may fall is quickly absorbed in the dry earth and back into the atmosphere.

Here’s a look at Drought conditions across the rest of the U.S.:

And the latest Drought Outlook released May 3 2012:

For past Drought reports see the Drought Files. From 2007 to current date.

Georgia Drought Update August 6 2011

The past couple of weeks have been dry in the area once again. The exception has been the northern and southern parts of the state. Central Georgia has seen a little activity in the form of pop-up scattered to isolated showers, offering little relief from drought conditions.

Although little rain has fallen in the local area and other areas throughout central Georgia, the drought monitor has removed our local area from ‘Exceptional drought’ and back in to ‘Extreme drought’.

Here is the current graphic showing our current drought conditions.

Here is a graphic showing the change from July 26 on the left to August 2 on the right.

Here at the homestead I ended the month of July with 3.79 inches of rain, and so far in August have seen none. Here is a map showing the amount of rain the state has seen in the last 14 days. The local are which is within the RED circle has seen less as mentioned than north or south of our location. According to the map legend we have seen anywhere from to 2 inches in part of Muscogge county, and a half to inch and a half in Harris county. Sounds about right according to my records of daily rainfall amounts.

We are still way below normal and I expect these dry days will once again catch up with us in the coming weeks. According to this map, we still need anywhere from 9 to 12 inches in the local area.

On a side note – We are still waiting on a tropical system to bring us relief.