Stephens Drought Still “Extreme”

Extreme drought conditions continue for Stephens County and much of the surrounding area.

The latest drought monitor report for Georgia was released Thursday.

In it, all of Stephens County is shown to be in “extreme drought.”

That is the second most severe category on the drought monitor, with only “exceptional drought” being worse.

No parts of Georgia are in “exceptional drought” at this time.

Stephens County is not alone in facing “extreme drought” conditions.

Currently, all of Franklin, Banks, and Hart counties, as well as eastern Habersham County, are seeing “extreme drought” conditions.

Overall, just under 10 percent of the state is in “extreme drought.”

That is up slightly from last week.

Also, 65 percent of the state is either “abnormally dry” or in some type of drought, according to the Drought Monitor.

That is up from just over 55 percent of the state last week.

Only southeast Georgia and far southwest Georgia are escaping dry and drought conditions at this time.