Large elements of the southeastern U.S. are in the midst of an distinctive drought, and it is fueling dozens of wildfires in Florida and Georgia.
One of these wildfires, in southeastern Georgia’s Brantley County, had damaged about 90 homes, was threatening lots of extra, and had unfold to more than 20,000 acres by April 26, 2026. Another hearth close to the Georgia-Florida border had burned more than 30,000 acres and about 35 buildings. The smoke from the blazes triggered air quality alerts in Atlanta, in the north-central part of the state.
Why is a area of the U.S. extra usually recognized for thunderstorms and humidity in spring seeing so many wildfires?
Georgia Department of Natural Resources via AP
I teach meteorology at the Georgia Institute of Technology, together with how climate patterns can result in situations conducive to wildfires. Here’s what’s occurring to drive these situations.
Key elements for a wildfire
Wildfires want a few key ingredients to unfold: low relative humidity, dry fuels and powerful winds.
Much of the Southeast has been in a drought since July 2025. From mid-March to mid-April 2026, the area noticed lower than 1 / 4 of its regular precipitation for that point of yr.
Drought.gov
As a consequence, the U.S. Drought Monitor categorised most of this area in “extreme” or “exceptional” drought by mid-April.
Brian Fuchs, National Drought Mitigation Center/U.S. Drought Monitor
Part of the reason for the lack of rainfall has been a persistent high-pressure system over the Southeast.
High-pressure systems are areas the place air aloft sinks towards the floor, stopping clouds and precipitation from forming. The Southeast high-pressure system resulted from the presence of a “ridge” in the jet stream, a northward bend on this quick present of air a number of miles above Earth’s floor.
Another consequence of this excessive stress has been the presence of typically southeast winds, which have transported heat and pretty dry air into the space.
The relative humidity – a measure of the quantity of moisture in the air relative to the most quantity the air can include at its precise air temperature – has additionally been very low on account of warmer-than-usual temperatures and lower-than-usual moisture.
Pivotal Weather
As a consequence of these situations, trees, grass and leaves dry out and may shortly change into gasoline for wildfires. That type of dry gasoline is widespread all through rural areas of Georgia and north Florida.
Once a hearth begins, whether or not from lightning, energy strains or different human sources, robust winds can unfold it quickly in these situations. Georgia hearth officers mentioned the largest hearth in mid-April, close to the Florida state line, began with a spark from welding equipment that ignited surrounding vegetation. They consider a mylar balloon hitting an influence line sparked the hearth that burned dozens of houses in Brantley County.
What’s forward for the area?
As international temperatures rise, the frequency of drought conditions in the Southeast will increase. This, together with less soil moisture content in the summer, could possibly be conducive for elevated wildfire exercise.
Wildfires do ultimately burn out. It takes a mixture of assist from the ambiance, with moisture to douse them, and firefighters clearing away dry gasoline to cease their unfold.
Georgia and Florida could get a reprieve quickly from the climate, as a number of low-pressure techniques are forecast for the area in late April and early May that would deliver rainfall. In the meantime, greater than half of Georgia’s counties are under a state of emergency, as a number of companies battle the flames to guard houses with helicopters in the air and scores of firefighters on the floor.
This article, initially printed April 23, 2026, has been up to date with extra houses broken and the suspected causes.
