Day of the High Road, 54th of Spring, 526 M.E. (Aldebaran):  The latest figures indicate that 71% of Georgia is currently under extreme drought. Only 9.87 inches of rain have fallen on Atlanta since the beginning of the year, down from the normal value of 16.76 for this time of year. Worse, only 4.16 inches of that rain have fallen since March 1, and 0.13 since April 1. It's like someone turned the spigot off.

Meanwhile, wildfires are sweeping across parts of Georgia and have burned tens of thousands of acres so far while destroying 87 homes. In South Georgia, the Pineland Road fire has burned over 29,600 acres and is only 10% contained and the Highway 82 fire is only 15% contained with over 4,438 acres burned. Meanwhile, crews were working last night to contain an active wildfire in West Georgia and firefighters in North Georgia were trying to contain a wildfire that started earlier in the day near homes close to Lake Allatoona. In all, the Georgia Forestry Commission says it responded to 34 new wildfires across the state on Wednesday, although the biggest concerns remain the ongoing wildfires in South Georgia.

With ongoing drought conditions and no significant rainfall in sight, wildfire concerns remain elevated across the state. Morning showers are currently forecast for Tuesday and Thursday of next week, with scattered thundershowers forecast for Wednesday and Friday.  The rain may dowse the wildfires, but we'll need a lot more than that to make up the deficit from the drought. 

The 2026 super El Niño may come to our rescue, at least with regard to the drought, although it will probably bring its own set of crises.  The transition to a super El Niño could potentially bring more rapid temperature variations, higher-than-normal humidity, and a reduced risk of widespread summer drought. Although we haven't seen it so far, super El Niño typically brings cooler, wetter conditions in the spring. El Niño also increases wind shear across the Atlantic, which can suppress hurricane formation, suggesting a lower likelihood of a hyperactive season. The super El Niño is expected to bring a wetter, stormier, and potentially even colder winter to Georgia, with an increased risk of heavy rain, localized flooding, and high-impact weather, driven by a stronger subtropical jet stream steering rain-producing systems over the Southeast.