We are blessed with rain these past two months. In some cases, we have more than we want. Drought is almost entirely gone from the Southeastern US at this time. Rainfall across some parts of Georgia were abundant, with rainfalls up to 300% of normal. The rainfall and clouds have also kept the temperatures down below normal by blocking out the sun’s energy. Below is an outlook of what we may expect from here on from UGA Extension Climatologist Pam Knox:
The outlook for July and beyond shows that there is a continued chance of above normal rainfall for the next month, although that abates somewhat later in summer. Temperatures are expected to be closer to normal than in previous seasons, although there is not much skill in making summer forecasts, especially when ENSO conditions are neutral (not El Nino or La Nina). The neutral conditions do make it likely that the Atlantic hurricane season will be more active than usual, so some areas could see a lot of rain from any storms that do materialize, but of course we don’t know where those will go, so areas right along the path could see a lot of rain while others outside the path could see none, similar to what happened in 2016 with Hurricanes Hermine and Matthew across the Southeast. Because of the increased chance of rainfall and the cooler temperatures, I expect that irrigation will be less needed than in some previous years, but of course it depends on the growing stage of the peanuts and the type of soil they are in as well. Whatever rain does come is likely to be in hit-or-miss showers which may cause widely variable conditions across short distances.
Thomas County Ag 