Drought, Elbert
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM EST to July 31, 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- Elbert forecast zone
- Reported by
- County Official
- Coordinates
- 34.117, -82.840 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought in Georgia, July 1 to 31, 2008
Unusually dry weather continued through the month of July, with severe to extreme drought conditions persisting across the area. Water well levels began to descend below record low levels, most of which were recorded during the 1999-2002 drought.
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
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.
Unusually dry weather continued through the month of July, with severe to extreme drought conditions persisting across the area. Water well levels began to descend below record low levels, most of which were recorded during the 1999-2002 drought. The vast majority of major streams across the area continued to run 1-10 percent of normal flow. Agriculture continued to be hard hit, with some areas reporting a 100 percent loss of the corn crop.
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 Jun 30, 11:48 PM EST, 12 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 30, 11:48 PM EST, 12 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1248 AM EDT TUE JUL 1 2008 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST STATES THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK...BRINGING RELATIVELY COOLER AND DRIER AIR TO THE REGION. A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE AREA FRIDAY AND IS EXPECTED TO BECOME STATIONARY ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS THROUGH THE WEEKEND. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TODAY/... THE OVERNIGHT HOURS WILL REMAIN QUIET WITH DEEP LAYER DRYING BEHIND SHORTWAVE AND SECONDARY SURFACE FRONT. TEMP TRENDS ARE A BIT TRICKY AS THE COOLER AND DRIER AIR TRIES TO FILTER IN. SOME MINOR MODIFICATIONS WERE MADE TO TEMPS AND DEWPOINTS BASED ON THE 18Z GUIDANCE AND LATEST OBS. SOME VALLEY FOG SHOULD BE EXPECTED AROUND ASHEVILLE THANKS TO THE EVENING SHOWERS THERE. DRYING WILL CONTINUE TUESDAY MORNING AS THE TROUGH AXIS MOVES OVERHEAD. THE 500 MB THERMAL TROUGH WILL LIKELY BOTTOM OUT AS COLD MINUS 15 C OVER THE FORECAST AREA BY TOMORROW AFTERNOON. THIS WILL PRODUCE VERY STEEP LAPSE RATES...BUT PROFILES WILL BECOME BONE DRY WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES GENERALLY 1/2 TO 3/4 INCH WITH AN EXTREME AFTN DEWPOINT MIXOUT. MAX TEMPS A CATEGORY OR TWO COOLER TOMORROW SHOULD KEEP MIN AFTN RH VALUES ABOVE 25 PERCENT THOUGH. && .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 240 PM MONDAY...THE CENTER OF A COOL AND DRY AIR MASS WILL SETTLE OVER THE WESTERN CAROLINAS BY SUNRISE WEDNESDAY. CLEAR SKY...LOW DEWPOINTS...AND NEARLY CALM WINDS WILL RESULT IN BELOW NORMAL MIN TEMPS WEDNESDAY MORNING. IN FACT...THE LOW TEMPERATURE A CLT MAY SET A NEW RECORD...SEE CLIMATE SECTION BELOW. TEMPERATURES SHOULD RAPIDLY WARM AFTER SUNRISE WITH RISING LLVL THICKNESSES AND STRONG INSOLATION. USING A BLEND OF MOS GUIDANCE...TEMPERATURES SHOULD RANGE FROM L80S IN THE MTN VALLEYS TO U80S EAST. NEAR NORMAL HIGH TEMPERATURES COMBINED WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE U40S WILL RESULT IN WIDESPREAD RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES FROM 25-30 PERCENT...WE WILL HEADLINE IN THE FIRE WEATHER FORECAST. WEAK RETURN FLOW WILL DEVELOP AHEAD OF A SLOW MOVING OHIO VALLEY FRONT ON THURSDAY. THE SOUTHWEST WIND WILL ADVECT A LITTLE WARMER LLVL THICKNESSES AND SLIGHTLY HIGHER DEWPOINTS ACROSS THE CWA. MOSTLY SUNNY CONDITIONS SHOULD REMAIN THROUGH THE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON...ALLOWING TEMPERATURES TO RANGE FROM THE MID 80S IN THE MTN VALLEYS TO L90S EAST. A LITTLE CONDITIONAL INSTABILITY SHOULD DEVELOP OVER THE MTNS DURING THE MID TO LATE AFTERNOON. I WILL KEEP THE FORECAST DRY WITH NO DEFINED TRIGGER IN THE REGION...HOWEVER...ONE OR TWO SHOWERS MAY BRIEFLY OCCUR OVER THE HIGHEST PEAKS LATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON. FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT...ANOTHER H5 TROF WILL BEGIN TO DEEPEN OVER THE MID CONUS...ALLOWING THE SFC FRONT TO MOVE EAST. THE 12Z GFS INDICATES THAT A SFC WAVE MAY DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT AND TRACK NE ACROSS THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY FRI NIGHT. THE SFC WAVE MAY SLOW THE EASTWARD MOVEMENT OF THE FRONT...LEAVING A LEE TROF/RIDGE TOP CONVERGENCE AS THE MAIN TRIGGERS FOR CONVECTION. I WILL FORECAST SCHC TO CHC POPS ACROSS THE CWA...FAVORING THE MTNS. TEMPERATURES SHOULD REMAIN SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... AS OF 240 PM MONDAY...SOME UPPER LEVEL TROFINESS WILL PERSIST OVER THE EASTERN STATES BASED ON THE GFS AND ECMWF THIS WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH THE REMAINS OF A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL DROP DOWN FROM THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY INTO THE CAROLINA AND GEORGIA REGION THROUGH THE WEEKEND. SOME DIURNAL TRENDS IN CONVECTION WILL CONTINUE WITH MOST OF THE SHOWERS AND STORMS OCCURRING LATE IN THE DAY AND EARLY EVENING. ALTHOUGH HEAVY RAIN IS POSSIBLE OVER THE WESTERN GULF REGION DURING THIS PERIOD...VERY LITTLE OF THAT IS EXPECTED TO REACH THE CAROLINAS. THE 06Z GFS HAD A BULLS EYE OF HEAVY RAIN REACHING OUR AREA MONDAY NIGHT...BUT IT WAS DISCOUNTED AS BEING TOO STRONG. TEMPERATURES WILL BE HELD DOWN A BIT FROM THE CLOUD COVER BUT BE WITHIN A FEW DEGREES OF NORMAL. OVERALL...SOME PLACES WILL PICK UP SOME MUCH NEEDED RAIN...BUT THE MAJORITY WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO BE QUITE DRY. && .AVIATION /06Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... JUST SPOTTY VFR LVL CLOUDS ARE EXPECTED THROUGHOUT THE TAF PERIOD. ALL 00 UTC GUIDANCE KEEPS WINDS FROM THE NORTHWEST TODAY AT KCLT... KEEPING LEE TROUGH SOUTH OF KGSP/KCLT...BUT PERHAPS ALLOWING A WSW WIND AT KAND. OUTLOOK...DRY HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN IN PLACE WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY WITH NO RESTRICTIONS EXPECTED. A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE NORTHWEST ON FRIDAY...WITH THUNDERSTORM CHANCES INCREASING INTO THE WEEKEND && .CLIMATE... HERE ARE THE DAILY RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES AND THE YEAR IN WHICH THEY OCCURRED FOR GSP...CLT...AND AVL. GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG TUESDAY 7/1 54 1979 WEDNESDAY 7/2 53 1899 CHARLOTTE TUESDAY 7/1 56 1919 WEDNESDAY 7/2 58 1885 ASHEVILLE TUESDAY 7/1 51 1984 WEDNESDAY 7/2 44 1988 && .GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...DEO NEAR TERM...HG/PM SHORT TERM...NED LONG TERM...DEO AVIATION...CSH CLIMATE...NED
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 30, 10:15 PM EST, 1 hour 45 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1115 PM EDT MON JUN 30 2008 GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033-035>037-048>053-056>059-062>065- 068>072-082-501>510-SCZ001>014-019-020315- RABUN-HABERSHAM-STEPHENS-FRANKLIN-HART-ELBERT-AVERY-ALEXANDER- IREDELL-DAVIE-MADISON-YANCEY-MITCHELL-SWAIN-HAYWOOD-BUNCOMBE-CATAWBA- ROWAN-GRAHAM-NORTHERN JACKSON-MACON-SOUTHERN JACKSON-TRANSYLVANIA- HENDERSON-CLEVELAND-LINCOLN-GASTON-MECKLENBURG-CABARRUS-UNION NC- CALDWELL MOUNTAINS-GREATER CALDWELL-BURKE MOUNTAINS-GREATER BURKE- MCDOWELL MOUNTAINS-EASTERN MCDOWELL-RUTHERFORD MOUNTAINS- GREATER RUTHERFORD-POLK MOUNTAINS-EASTERN POLK-OCONEE MOUNTAINS- PICKENS MOUNTAINS-GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS-GREATER OCONEE- GREATER PICKENS-GREATER GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG-CHEROKEE-YORK- ANDERSON-ABBEVILLE-LAURENS-UNION SC-CHESTER-GREENWOOD- 1115 PM EDT MON JUN 30 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA...PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA...WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
6 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Drought, Franklin
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM EST to July 31, 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- Franklin forecast zone
- Reported by
- County Official
- Coordinates
- 34.375, -83.229 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Habersham
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM EST to July 31, 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- Habersham forecast zone
- Reported by
- County Official
- Coordinates
- 34.631, -83.531 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Hart
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM EST to July 31, 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- Hart forecast zone
- Reported by
- County Official
- Coordinates
- 34.351, -82.964 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Rabun
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM EST to July 31, 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- Rabun forecast zone
- Reported by
- County Official
- Coordinates
- 34.882, -83.402 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Stephens
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM EST to July 31, 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- Stephens forecast zone
- Reported by
- County Official
- 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
- Wildfire in California, July 1 to 31, 2008
- Wildfire in California, July 1 to 25, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Minnesota, July 1, 2008
- Drought in Texas, July 1 to 31, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in New Hampshire, July 1, 2008
- Flood and Hail in Massachusetts, July 1, 2008
- Tornado and Hail in Florida, July 1 to 2, 2008
- Flood in Illinois, July 1 to 14, 2008
- Flood in Missouri, July 1 to 16, 2008
- Flood in Illinois, July 1 to 10, 2008
- Drought in North Carolina, July 1 to 31, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Connecticut, July 1, 2008
More
Every storm in Georgia in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, July 2008
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: 128235, 128236, 128237, 128238, 128239, 128240.