Current Impacts
To see or report current drought impacts, please visit the Drought Impacts Toolkit, where you can find impacts from media in the Drought Impact Reporter and from citizen scientists and other volunteer observers under Condition Monitoring Observations.
Historic Impacts
No two states have the same experience during a drought. Below are examples of some of the impacts experienced in Georgia in the past. To view a more complete record, and to filter impacts by drought severity, sector and season, check out the interactive State Impacts Tool.
| Category | Examples of historically observed impacts |
|---|
| D0 | Fire risk is elevated |
| Topsoil moisture decreases; planting is delayed |
| D1 | Crops are vulnerable; soil moisture is low |
| Gardens and lawns require more water |
| Stream and pond levels are lower; water temperatures increase |
| Tree stress begins |
| D2 | Crops are stressed; hay yield is low; producers feed cattle early; planting is delayed; soil is hard; conditions are dustier than usual |
| Drought mitigation; water conservation education |
| Small streams dry up; rivers are very low |
| Tree mortality begins |
| D3 | Agriculture suffers economic loss |
| Ground is cracking |
| Landscaping business is negatively affected; agriculture suffers economic loss |
| Majority of hay/grazing is lost |
| Outdoor burn bans are implemented |
| Rivers and livestock ponds are dry; wells are drying up; mandatory water conservation is implemented |
| Trees have early leaf drop |
| D4 | Agriculture economy is severely impacted |
| Fire risk is high; fire activity increases |
| Hydroelectric power generation is significantly reduced |
| Tree mortality is high; army worm outbreaks occur |