We have been going through a very dry period. Let’s take a look at some of the numbers and data. I’m also going to talk some about how this dryness has impacted agriculture and natural resources in our area.
As of September 25 the United States Drought Monitor has spots in the Southeast listed as abnormally dry, with some pockets appearing as in moderate drought, and some small spots as in severe drought. Union and Towns counties are listed as abnormally dry for the most part. The southern tips of both counties are listed as moderate drought. Lumpkin, White, Habersham, and Rabun are all in moderate drought. Some pockets on the south side of Atlanta are in severe drought.
According to the US drought monitor abnormally dry conditions means that topsoil moisture is decreased and planting is delayed. Fire risk is also elevated. In the coming weeks, with no sure signs of rain coming, I’d expect all of Union and Towns to move into the moderate drought category. This category means that crops are vulnerable, soil moisture is low, gardens and lawns require more water, stream and pond levels are lower, and water temperatures increase. Water temperatures increasing can become an issue for fish, namely trout. Increased water temperatures means less dissolved oxygen in the water. This can present issues for all aquatic life. As our lakes are drawn lower you may start to see weeds appear in places where you haven’t seen them before. Aquatic weeds will begin to appear because as water levels drop sunlight is able to penetrate to areas that were too deep to allow sunlight before.
From July 1 to September 25 we’ve had 8.47 inches of rain according to the georgiaweather.net Blairsville station. In 2018 and 2017 we had over 13.6 inches of rain in that same period. 8.47 is comparable to 2016 when we had 8.49 inches over that same period of time. 2016 was a drought year. We are not near the level of drought that was experienced that year as we’ve already gotten more rain than all of 2016.
The lack of rainfall that we’ve had has created issues with non-irrigated crops. Hayfields haven’t been able to grow like the normally would, and cattlemen may need to begin feeding hay sooner than anticipated because pastures haven’t been able to grow back after grazing because of the lack of rain. No rain has also made conditions more dusty, which can lead to problems for people with allergies.
There are a couple of silver linings to the lack of rain for some individuals. No rain has been good for keeping plant diseases low. Fungal diseases need moisture to be able to germinate and spread. No rain means that there has been less humidity and water to move diseases. The vineyards have benefitted from the dry conditions. Pre-harvest is a difficult time for vineyards with diseases, but they have done pretty well this year.
Let’s hope that we get some rain soon. If you have questions about drought and how to manage it contact your county Extension Office or send me an email at Jacob.Williams@uga.edu.