We’ve had over 8 inches of rain, but still parts of the area remain in a Level 2 ‘Severe’ Drought
ATLANTA — Atlanta has picked up over 8 inches of rain this month, yet we’ve seen only small improvements in the drought.
With tropical moisture over north Georgia, the pattern of daily scattered showers and storms has been ongoing throughout the last 10 days. And we should see this pattern holding on in the near term.
In July, it’s been the opposite. To date, it’s been our wettest calendar month since October 2020 — nearly 4 years ago! We’re within the top 20 wettest Julys on record and could get to the top 10. We’ve had 8.09″ of rain through the 24th. And 5 separate days this month alone picked up over 1″ of rain at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
So, are we almost out of the drought? Murphey says mostly.
As we close out the month, there is a daily chance of isolated to scattered showers and storms over the next week.
Murphey remains optimistic about the future, “At present, the Gulf remains wide open. This bodes well for keeping us out of drought.”
With a La Nina expected by the peak of hurricane season, this increases the outlook of tropical cyclone formation. If we get a tropical system landfall in the Gulf that rides into or west of Georgia, this can also enhance rainfall prospects. But — too much of a good thing at once can also lead to flooding risks.
