MIDTOWN TALLAHASSEE, FL — An exceptional drought has spread west to include parts of every county across the Big Bend and South Georgia, marking the worst drought in the area since 2012, according to the National Weather Service.
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:
As of Friday morning, about half of the area is under a Fire Weather Watch. This means fires could start and spread easily due to low humidity levels and breezy conditions.
With very little rainfall, the drought has gotten significantly worse. For 2026, the area is now in a rainfall deficit of over 5 inches.
With the month of March almost over and little to no rain expected for the rest of the month, the area has only received 1.61 inches of rainfall. That is almost 3 inches under the March average of 4.32 inches.
On March 16, the area saw an average of 1.5 inches of rainfall, with isolated neighborhoods seeing up to 3 inches. However, the drought continued to worsen.
Currently, the region would need at least 5 to 7 inches of rainfall to halt the drought or make a slight dent in any improvement.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
