Climatologist says drought conditions spreading

ATLANTA - Mild and moderate drought conditions have expanded over the past month to blanket western and southern parts of Georgia.

State climatologist David Stooksbury says above normal temperatures and below normal rainfall has caused soils to dry across the state.

Only a few counties in the mountains along the Tennessee and North Carolina borders and a few near the coast are considered free of drought conditions.

Daytime highs through September have remained in the 90s across the piedmont and coastal plain.

He says rainfall for the past month has been as low as 50 percent of normal for large portions of the state. Counties south and west of Haralson, Paulding, Douglas and Troup are among those suffering moderate drought conditions.

He says much of the rest of the state - including most of northeast Georgia - is classified as abnormally dry.