County burn ban remains in place
The state of Georgia has been in a drought for a while with the conditions building since last year.
The longevity has not only impacted local farming, it also played a major contributing factor in the Brantley County wildfire.
Thankfully, recent rainfall has provided some much needed relief and respite. The bout of wet weather also helped contribute to the containment of the Brantley County fire.
But, how much has the weather improved conditions in the county?
Austin Bagby, Agriculture and Natural Resource agent for the University of Georgia Waycross extension, spoke about the drought and the relief brought by the rain. According to Bagby, while the rain has stabilized regional conditions, the drought is hardly over.
“For it (drought) to end, most of the state would need over a foot of rain over the next month,” Bagby said.
According to the UGA Weather Network’s Nahunta location, during the month of May, as of Friday, May 15, Brantley County had received approximately 2.54 inches of rain.
“Droughts are usually ended by either tropical storms or by a very wet weather pattern like a stationary front or by El Niño,” Bagby explained. “It is not likely to happen soon.”
The shifting La Niña/El Niño weather pattern is attributed to the drought conditions.
“La Niña pushed the jet stream north, leaving the southeast warmer and drier than usual for the winter as a whole,” said Bagby. “There were some cold outbreaks including several freezes, but they usually only lasted a few days. The overall average temperature was warmer than normal.”
With La Niña now gone, the state is currently experiencing neutral conditions. According to Bagby, a transition to El Niño is expected by early summer, with a 25 percent chance of an exceptionally strong El Niño by next winter. He did caution, however, that “predictions in spring are not very reliable.”
As for how the shift has helped farmers, it has provided short-term relief for crops.
“After months of severe drought and dryness,” said Bagby, “farmers are finally able to get some moisture to get seed in ground, which will help improve germination and give some relief to stressed corn and pastures for short term relief” While Ware County has since eased its burn ban, Nahunta Fire and Rescue confirmed in a Friday social media post the Brantley County burn ban remains in effect.
“We need consistent rainfall through the summer due to the exceptional drought we are in,” Bagby concluded. “Farmers are already starting the season behind due to the drought. We need to pray for more rain to help with conditions as we are still in an extreme drought.”
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