The latest Drought Monitor, released today, shows that there have been increases in the areal coverage as well as the intensity of drought in many parts of the Southeast this week. This is not a surprise considering the high temperatures and almost complete lack of rainfall that has occurred since their last map. Drought now covers all of the region except a small sliver of the southeast coast of Florida. Ten percent of the region is in exceptional (D4) drought, all in southern Georgia and northern Florida. Impacts of the drought are severe and producers are really struggling with planting crops in bone-dry crusty ground. Wildfires are also spreading rapidly across the driest areas, leading to decreases in air quality and leading to destruction of many buildings in the areas of the fires.
