We’re halfway through July and a look at the climate statistics so far shows the troubling situation for crops across most of the region.  Temperatures across the Southeast have been well above normal so far this month, leading to excessive heat stress on livestock and significant evapotranspiration from crops.

The precipitation across the Southeast has been more varied, with central Georgia having the lowest precipitation amounts.  There, many areas have received less than 25% of their normal rainfall for the month so far.  This, in conjunction with the high temperatures, has caused drought to expand across the region.  Unfortunately, the forecasts for the next month suggest that warmer and drier conditions than normal are likely to continue, which will likely lead to more increases in severe and extreme drought in the coming weeks.

jul 16 temp to date  jul 16 precip pct normal to date