December 2016 was once again much hotter than normal across the state, with some areas over six degrees above normal.  Rainfall was highly variable this month, with the northern half of the state quite dry while much of the southern half was inundated with heavy rain, particularly on December 4 to 6.

In Atlanta, the monthly average temperature was 48.9 degrees F (3.6 degrees above normal), in Athens 47.1 degrees (1.7 degrees above normal), Columbus 52.5 (3.4 degrees above normal), Macon 52.2 (4.2 above normal), Savannah 56.4 (4.7 above normal), Brunswick 59.1 (5.0 above normal), Alma 56.6 (4.0 above normal), Augusta 52.1 (4.9 above normal), Albany 57.3 (6.3 above normal), Rome 45.4 (2.8 above normal), and Valdosta 57.7 (4.6 degrees above normal).

Macon and Augusta set new record highs of 81 F and 84 F, respectively, on December 18, surpassing the old records of 79 F and 82 F set in 2008.  Brunswick tied several record highs on December 18, 24 and 29 and broke their record high on December 6, reporting 81 F, which surpassed the old record of 79 F set in 1972.

The highest monthly total precipitation from National Weather Service reporting stations was 10.68 inches in Albany (6.93 inches above normal) and the lowest was in Valdosta with 2.15 inches (1.02 inches below normal).  Atlanta received 3.00 inches (0.90 below normal), Athens received 2.42 inches (1.31 below normal), Columbus received 4.37 inches (0.10 above normal), Macon 5.95 inches (1.91 below normal), Augusta 4.41 inches (1.02 above normal), Savannah 4.29 (1.34 above normal), Alma 4.72 inches (1.43 above normal), Brunswick 3.02 (0.38 above normal), and Rome 3.41 (0.97 below normal).

Several daily rainfall records were set on December 5 across southern Georgia.  Savannah received 1.36 inches, breaking the old record of 1.17 inches set in 1994.  Alma received 2.16 inches, surpassing the old record of 1.16 inches set in 1954.  And although the National Weather Service does not publish daily rainfall records for Albany, the 5.47 inches they received on the same day was undoubtedly a daily record for that location as well.

The highest one-day rainfall from a CoCoRaHS observer was 6.90 inches reported on the morning of December 6 northeast of Baconton in Mitchell County in southwest Georgia, followed by 6.48 inches northeast of Camilla in the same county.  An observer near Tifton in Tift County received 6.26 inches on the same day.  The highest monthly total of 12.42 inches was observed west of Albany in Dougherty County, followed by 11.15 inches at the Camilla station and 10.76 inches near Sylvester in Worth County.

There were isolated reports of wind damage on December 13, 28 and 29.  An EF-1 tornado damaged 25-30 homes near Jefferson in Jackson County early on the 29th.  No injuries were reported.

The rain this month removed abnormally dry conditions from along the coast and reduced drought conditions in southern Georgia, but only limited relief was seen in north Georgia.  Some limited reduction in drought level was also seen in southern Atlanta.

December’s heat and varying rainfall had limited impacts on agriculture in Georgia.  The change to a wetter weather pattern helped reduce fires and refill some ponds, although pond and lake levels in many areas were still well below full pool.  Some farmers attempted to plant winter forage crops like rye grass to take advantage of the wetter conditions but were not sure if the stands would be established before frost stopped growth.  This increased sales of seed at some locations.

The outlook for January shows a somewhat increased chance of above-normal temperatures and wetter than normal conditions.  The warm conditions are likely to continue into spring but drier conditions may return as the weak La Nina ebbs away.

For more information please see the “Climate and Agriculture” blog at https://site.extension.uga.edu/climate/  or visit our web page at https://www.gaclimate.org.  Please feel free to email your weather and climate impacts on agriculture to share on the blog to pknox@uga.edu.

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