Drought in Georgia, May 1 to 31, 2004

Name: Drought in Georgia, May 1 to 31, 2004
Start: 2004-05-01T00:00
End: 2004-05-31T23:59
Location: Georgia

May 1 to 31, 2004 · NWS GSP · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

A period of dry weather that began in August of 2003 culminated in moderate drought conditions across extreme northeast Georgia by late spring of 2004. Streamflow and lake levels were below normal, and some communities instituted water restrictions.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 30, 8:45 PM EST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 8:45 PM EST, 3 hours 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
945 PM EDT FRI APR 30 2004

.UPDATE...
SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVING ACROSS GULF STATES PER 00Z 700 MB ANALYSIS.
RADAR SHOWING CONVECTION MOVING NE INTO CENTRAL GA. THIS ACTIVITY
SLOW TO WEAKEN. MAV GUIDANCE FROM 18Z HAS HIGH CHANCE POPS MOST OF
AREA OVERNIGHT. WITH ISENTROPIC LIFT CONTINUING...AND CONVECTION
APPROACHING FROM SW...WILL RAISE POPS FROM SW...BLENDING BETTER
WITH FFC AND CAE. MESOETA CAPE RATHER LIMITED...SO ISOLATED THUNDER
STILL OK. REORIENTED QPF TO FAVOR SW. KEPT MENTION OF FOG LATE
TONIGHT. TEMPERATURE AND DEW POINT FORECASTS GENERALLY ON TRACK.
MADE MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO WIND BASED ON 18Z MESOETA. WILL UPDATE
TO REMOVE LIKELY EVENING POPS...AND RAISE OVERNIGHT POPS.

&&

GSP WT 061/074 061/073 056 07556
    BBBUU 067/046 070/047 075/050 077/052 078 73211000000
AND WT 061/074 061/074 056 07556
    BBBUU 070/046 070/048 075/051 077/053 078 73211000000
CLT WT 060/072 061/075 057 07456
    EBBUU 066/046 069/048 074/051 076/053 077 74311000000
HKY WT 060/071 060/070 051 07356
    BBBUU 063/045 069/046 074/049 076/051 077 73311000000
AVL WT 057/071 057/071 051 07457
    BBBUU 061/042 065/043 070/046 072/048 073 82211000000

&&

.GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
GA...NONE.
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.
&&

JAT

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 30, 5:26 AM EST, 18 hours 34 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
626 AM EDT FRI APR 30 2004

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-301225-
ABBEVILLE SC-ALEXANDER NC-ANDERSON SC-AVERY NC-BUNCOMBE NC-BURKE NC-
CABARRUS NC-CALDWELL NC-CATAWBA NC-CHEROKEE SC-CHESTER SC-
CLEVELAND NC-DAVIE NC-ELBERT GA-FRANKLIN GA-GASTON NC-GRAHAM NC-
GREATER GREENVILLE SC-GREATER OCONEE SC-GREATER PICKENS SC-
GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS SC-GREENWOOD SC-HABERSHAM GA-HART GA-HAYWOOD NC-
HENDERSON NC-IREDELL NC-LAURENS SC-LINCOLN NC-MACON NC-MADISON NC-
MCDOWELL NC-MECKLENBURG NC-MITCHELL NC-NORTHERN JACKSON NC-
OCONEE MOUNTAINS SC-PICKENS MOUNTAINS SC-POLK NC-RABUN GA-ROWAN NC-
RUTHERFORD NC-SOUTHERN JACKSON NC-SPARTANBURG SC-STEPHENS GA-
SWAIN NC-TRANSYLVANIA NC-UNION SC-UNION NC-YANCEY NC-YORK SC-
626 AM EDT FRI APR 30 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA...
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA.

.DAY ONE...

VERY LOCALIZED DENSE FOG AROUND THE CHARLOTTE METRO AREA AND NORTH
ALONG I-85 TOWARD THE TRIAD WILL DISSIPATE A FEW HOURS AFTER SUNRISE.
SCATTERED SHOWERS A FEW AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO EXPECTED
ACROSS THE REGION.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

INCREASED CHANCES OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR SATURDAY AND SATURDAY
NIGHT OUT AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT. THIS FRONT WILL MOVE
ACROSS THE AREA ON SUNDAY...POSSIBLY ACCOMPANIED BY SOME STRONG IF
NOT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED SUNDAY.

CSH

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Elbert

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Elbert forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 34.117, -82.840 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Franklin

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Franklin forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 34.375, -83.229 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Habersham

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Habersham forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 34.631, -83.531 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Hart

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Hart forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 34.351, -82.964 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Rabun

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Rabun forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 34.882, -83.402 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Stephens

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Stephens forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 34.554, -83.293 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Georgia in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Georgia, May 2004

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5403401, 5403402, 5403403, 5403404, 5403405, 5403406.