Drought conditions intensified across north and central Georgia through February as the region's traditional recharge window began to close with significant deficits in place. While January saw a semi-active weather pattern, February was largely characterized by a more stagnant, dry pattern.
Every event with a place to put it; 15 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS FFC wrote it up.
Drought conditions intensified across north and central Georgia through February as the region's traditional recharge window began to close with significant deficits in place. While January saw a semi-active weather pattern, February was largely characterized by a more stagnant, dry pattern. Occasional cold frontal passages brought cooler air but failed to provide widespread, drought-improving rains across most of the area. This lack of meaningful precipitation caused the drought to not only persist but to expand further statewide.
Precipitation for February was markedly below normal for nearly the entire state. Widespread totals across north and central Georgia were limited to 1.5 to 4.5 inches (50 to 90 percent of normal), except in two swaths of higher totals. A stretch from Columbus to Macon to Swainsboro observed 4 to 7 inches of rain (110 to 200 percent of normal), as well as the Marietta to Snellville area in the Atlanta Metro which saw 5 to 7 (125 to 200 percent of normal). Despite the higher totals in some areas, streamflow and soil moistures struggled to revive following the waves of rainfall, and reports from agriculture partners maintained the dire grazing and pasture conditions.
The U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) reflected a month of aggressive expansion of the D2 Severe Drought and D3 Extreme Drought areas. At the start of the month, 50.96 percent of north and central Georgia was D2 Severe Drought. By the end of the month, D2 or worse conditions covered 78.0 percent of the area. Most concerning was the rapid expansion of D3, which grew from roughly 2.9 percent to nearly 18.3 percent of the region.
The drought persisted and intensified through March as dry conditions and lack of rainfall continued through what should be one of the wettest months.
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 Atlanta, GA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 9, 6:45 PM EST, 5 hours 15 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Peachtree City GA 645 PM EST Mon Feb 9 2026 ...New 00Z Aviation Discussion... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 640 PM EST Mon Feb 9 2026 - Warm temperatures throughout the week, peaking on Tuesday with highs in the 70s. - Light rain showers move through Tuesday night into Wednesday, with rainfall totals generally under a tenth of an inch. - Increasing chances for widespread rainfall over the weekend as a strong system moves through the region. && .SHORT TERM... (This afternoon through Tuesday) Issued at 128 PM EST Mon Feb 9 2026 A very pleasant February afternoon across the area under mostly sunny skies and generally light winds. There's a decent range in temperatures with upper 40s/lower 50s across northeast and east- central GA, while mid to upper 60s exist across southwest areas (as of 1PM EST). As high pressure slips south across Florida and the eastern Gulf, the flow will become more 'south-westerly' across the area which will increase moisture ahead of our next little system/cold front that will approach the area tomorrow (Tuesday) night. In the meantime, temperatures will be running at least 10-15F degrees above normal (likely higher tomorrow night as clouds and light precip move in) through early Wednesday. && .LONG TERM... (Wednesday morning through next Sunday) Issued at 128 PM EST Mon Feb 9 2026 Warm with Occasional Rain through Friday: Wednesday will start off with scattered light rain showers across much of north and central Georgia as a mid-level shortwave and associated frontal boundary push through the area. Rainfall totals with this system will be generally under 0.10 inches before it pushes out of the area mid to late afternoon. Highs will be in the 60s for most areas on Wednesday. A drier and slightly cooler airmass filters in Wednesday night into Thursday, with overnight lows in the 30s in north GA, and 40s in central GA. Highs Thursday afternoon climb into the mid to upper 60s under mostly clear skies. From late Thursday into Friday, model guidance starts to show increasing spread / uncertainty, but the general thinking is that another weak shortwave will drop from the Midwest down across the Southeast US. At most, this would bring another round of isolated to scattered light rain showers to the area, but it is just as likely that the moisture remains further north and keeps the area rain-free. High temps would likely be in the upper 50s to low 60s. Weekend Storm System: The bigger story of the long term period is the potential for a strong system to eject out of the Southern Plains and move across the Southeast US over the weekend. There is still a lot of uncertainty with the timing and track of this system, and therefore any potential hazards, but our confidence does continue to increase in widespread rainfall and gusty winds at times from late Friday through Sunday. At this time, temperatures look like they will be too warm for any wintry precipitation, but we will have to keep a close eye on the potential for a shallow wedge of cold air to sneak into far NE Georgia with surface high pressure over the Mid-Atlantic. The other thing we will be keeping an eye on is the potential for severe weather, which will be highly dependent on the track of the system, as higher dewpoints could be brought in from the south with a further north track. In summary, the confidence in the forecast this weekend is low besides the widespread rainfall. Speaking of which, the latest NBM run has over an 80% chance of 1 inch or more of total rainfall across most of the area this weekend, with over a 50% chance of 2 inches or more across portions of north GA. Needless to say this system could pack quite a punch and lead to different hazards depending its track and strength, so stay tuned for the latest forecast updates! && .AVIATION... (00Z TAFS) Issued at 640 PM EST Mon Feb 9 2026 VFR ceilings prevail this evening and are favored to mainly persist into morning, though areas of lower cigs/fog are possible. Highest probability for fog and low cigs is at CSG/MCN with smaller chance that lower cigs reach ATL area sites by 10-12Z. Otherwise, VFR mid and high cigs are expected on Tuesday. Overnight winds will be light and VRB and then SW at 8-12 kts on Tuesday. //ATL Confidence...00Z Update... Medium confidence on morning cigs/vsbys. High confidence on other elements. RW && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Athens 40 73 56 68 / 0 0 10 40 Atlanta 47 71 56 64 / 0 0 40 50 Blairsville 37 67 48 59 / 0 0 50 40 Cartersville 45 73 54 64 / 0 0 50 50 Columbus 47 72 56 71 / 0 0 30 40 Gainesville 42 71 56 65 / 0 0 30 40 Macon 45 74 57 71 / 0 0 10 50 Rome 47 75 55 66 / 0 0 60 50 Peachtree City 46 72 56 67 / 0 0 40 50 Vidalia 45 76 56 73 / 0 0 0 40 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && SHORT TERM...DJN.83 LONG TERM....Culver AVIATION...RW
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Peachtree City GA 905 PM EST Mon Feb 9 2026 GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-110215- Baldwin-Banks-Barrow-Bartow-Bibb-Bleckley-Butts-Carroll-Catoosa- Chattahoochee-Chattooga-Cherokee-Clarke-Clayton-Cobb-Coweta- Crawford-Crisp-Dade-Dawson-DeKalb-Dodge-Dooly-Douglas-Emanuel- Fannin-Fayette-Floyd-Forsyth-Gilmer-Glascock-Gordon-Greene- Gwinnett-Hall-Hancock-Haralson-Harris-Heard-Henry-Houston-Jackson- Jasper-Jefferson-Johnson-Jones-Lamar-Laurens-Lumpkin-Macon- Madison-Marion-Meriwether-Monroe-Montgomery-Morgan-Murray- Muscogee-Newton-North Fulton-Oconee-Oglethorpe-Paulding-Peach- Pickens-Pike-Polk-Pulaski-Putnam-Rockdale-Schley-South Fulton- Spalding-Stewart-Sumter-Talbot-Taliaferro-Taylor-Telfair-Toombs- Towns-Treutlen-Troup-Twiggs-Union-Upson-Walker-Walton-Warren- Washington-Webster-Wheeler-White-Whitfield-Wilcox-Wilkes- Wilkinson- 905 PM EST Mon Feb 9 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for north and central Georgia. .DAY ONE...Tonight... The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday... There is potential for a strong system to move across the region over the weekend bringing widespread rainfall and gusty winds. Confidence in the track and strength of the system is low, and severe weather cannot be ruled out at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed through tonight.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
15 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, D2 (Severe Drought) conditions were introduced in Butts County on February 10. D2 Severe Drought conditions continued into February.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, D2 (Severe Drought) conditions were introduced in Jasper County on February 10. D2 Severe Drought conditions continued into February.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, D2 (Severe Drought) conditions were introduced in Newton County on February 10. D2 Severe Drought conditions continued into February.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, D2 (Severe Drought) conditions were introduced in Putnam County on February 10. D2 Severe Drought conditions continued into February.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, D2 (Severe Drought) conditions returned to Chattooga County on February 10. This degradation followed a brief reprieve, which had interrupted an initial two-week period of Severe Drought that began on December 30. By the end of February, the county had recorded a cumulative total of five weeks at or above the D2 threshold since the drought’s inception in the fall.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, D2 (Severe Drought) conditions returned to Clayton County on February 10. This degradation followed a brief reprieve, which had interrupted an initial ten-week period of Severe Drought that began on October 7. By the end of February, the county had recorded a cumulative total of 13 weeks at or above the D2 threshold since the drought’s inception in the fall.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, D2 (Severe Drought) conditions returned to Dade County on February 10. This degradation followed a brief reprieve, which had interrupted an initial three-week period of Severe Drought that began on December 30. By the end of February, the county had recorded a cumulative total of five weeks at or above the D2 threshold since the drought’s inception in the fall.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, D2 (Severe Drought) conditions returned to DeKalb County on February 10. This degradation followed a brief reprieve, which had interrupted an initial eight-week period of Severe Drought that began on October 7, 2025. By the end of February, the county had recorded a cumulative total of 11 weeks at or above the D2 threshold since the drought’s inception in the fall.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, D2 (Severe Drought) conditions returned to Fayette County on February 10. This degradation followed a brief reprieve, which had interrupted an initial ten-week period of Severe Drought that began on October 7, 2025. By the end of February, the county had recorded a cumulative total of 13 weeks at or above the D2 threshold since the drought’s inception in the fall.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, D2 (Severe Drought) conditions returned to Henry County on February 10. This degradation followed a brief reprieve, which had interrupted an initial seven-week period of Severe Drought that began on October 14, 2025. By the end of February, the county had recorded a cumulative total of 10 weeks at or above the D2 threshold since the drought’s inception in the fall.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, D2 (Severe Drought) conditions returned to Pike County on February 10. This degradation followed a brief reprieve, which had interrupted an initial ten-week period of Severe Drought that began on October 7, 2025. By the end of February, the county had recorded a cumulative total of 13 weeks at or above the D2 threshold since the drought’s inception in the fall.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, D2 (Severe Drought) conditions returned to Rockdale County on February 10. This degradation followed a brief reprieve, which had interrupted an initial seven-week period of Severe Drought that began on October 14, 2025. By the end of February, the county had recorded a cumulative total of 10 weeks at or above the D2 threshold since the drought’s inception in the fall.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, D2 (Severe Drought) conditions returned to Spalding County on February 10. This degradation followed a brief reprieve, which had interrupted an initial ten-week period of Severe Drought that began on October 7, 2025. By the end of February, the county had recorded a cumulative total of 13 weeks at or above the D2 threshold since the drought’s inception in the fall.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, D2 (Severe Drought) conditions returned to south Fulton County on February 10. This degradation followed a brief reprieve, which had interrupted an initial eight-week period of Severe Drought that began on October 7, 2025. By the end of February, the county had recorded a cumulative total of 11 weeks at or above the D2 threshold since the drought’s inception in the fall.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, D2 (Severe Drought) conditions returned to north Fulton County on February 10. This degradation followed a brief reprieve, which had interrupted an initial eight-week period of Severe Drought that began on October 7, 2025. By the end of February, the county had recorded a cumulative total of 11 weeks at or above the D2 threshold since the drought’s inception in the fall.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, February 2026
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: 1315817, 1315818, 1315819, 1315820, 1315821, 1315822, 1315823, 1315824, 1315826, 1315827, 1315828, 1315829, 1315830, 1315831, 1315832.