Hamilton County and other parts of Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia are dry but not in drought conditions, according to a new report.
But drought intensified in other places around both states, the report shows.
The U.S. Drought Monitor report, released Thursday, downgraded Hamilton, Bradley and Catoosa counties, as well as most of Whitfield, Murray and Walker, from “moderate drought” to “abnormally dry” conditions.
But Northwest Tennessee and Southeast Georgia saw drought levels increase from “severe” to “extreme.”
Brian Boyd, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tenn., said Chattanooga is still more than 10 inches below normal in rainfall for the year, but conditions have improved because vegetation has gone dormant so plants aren’t sucking water out of the soil.