Southeast drought intensifies, officials urge water conservation measures | JQJO

MOBILE, Ala. Alabama saw widespread deterioration in drought conditions over the past week, with nearly the entire state slipping by at least one category on the U.S. Drought Monitor. Extreme drought expanded in the southeastern portion of the state while severe drought tightened its grip across much of Alabama, reflecting mounting stress on agriculture, water supplies and ecosystems. The worsening followed another dry week for most of the Southeast, where precipitation was scarce outside Florida. Temperatures across the region were generally near to slightly below normal, though western areas ran 3 to 6 degrees above average, which intensified moisture loss.

The broader Southeast also saw degradation: Georgia experienced an eastward expansion of exceptional drought levels and shifts in areas of extreme drought, while severe drought spread across much of eastern South Carolina and extreme drought grew along the North Carolina–South Carolina border and in parts of western and northeastern North Carolina. Florida was the lone exception, with coastal eastern and southern areas recording above-normal rainfall, including localized totals exceeding 6 inches that produced modest improvements along the Atlantic coast and parts of central Florida. Outside Florida, the lack of meaningful rainfall continues to drive worsening drought across the region, leaving Alabama among the hardest-hit states as spring advances.