This image from Facebook shows the wildfires in Clay County from across the river.

The author teaches meteorology at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This story first appeared on April 23, 2026 in The Conversation and is reprinted here with permission. As of this morning, 80 percent of the “Railroad Fire” in Clay and Putnam counties had been contained.

By ZACHARY HANDLOS

Large parts of the southeastern U.S. are in the midst of an exceptional drought, and it is fueling dozens of wildfires in Florida and Georgia.

One of those wildfires, in southeastern Georgia’s Brantley County, had burned about 90 homes and had spread to more than 20,000 acres by April 27, 2026. Another fire near the Georgia-Florida border had burned more than 30,000 acres and about 35 structures. The smoke from the blazes triggered air quality alerts in Atlanta.

Why is a region of the U.S. more often known for thunderstorms and humidity in spring seeing so many wildfires?

A forested area with a burned-out vehicle, burned trees and gray ash covering everything. — A fire near the Florida-Georgia line had burned nearly 30,000 acres by April 23, 2026, leaving ash behind. Georgia Department of Natural Resources via AP

I teach meteorology at the Georgia Institute of Technology, including how weather patterns can lead to conditions conducive to wildfires. Here’s what’s happening to drive these conditions.

Key Ingredients

Wildfires need a few key ingredients to spread: low relative humidity, dry fuels and strong winds.

Much of the Southeast has been in a drought since July 2025. From mid-March to mid-April 2026, the region saw less than a quarter of its normal precipitation for that time of year.

A U.S. map showing very dry conditions over much of the eastern U.S., the Southwest and the Great Plains. — A map showing how far above or below average precipitation has been in each region from mid-March to mid-April 2026 shows just how dry much of the U.S. Southeast has been. Drought.gov

As a result, the U.S. Drought Monitor classified most of this region in “extreme” or “exceptional” drought by mid-April.

In the map of the Southeast, an area of exceptional drought stretches from the Florida Panhandle to central coastal Georgia. much of the rest of the two states are extreme drought. — A map of the U.S. Southeast as of April 21, 2026, shows exceptional drought across the Georgia-Florida border area and extreme drought in many other areas. 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 where air aloft sinks toward the surface, preventing clouds and precipitation from forming. The Southeast high-pressure system resulted from the presence of a “ridge” in the jet stream, a northward bend in this fast current of air several miles above Earth’s surface.

Another consequence of this high pressure has been the presence of generally southeast winds, which have transported warm and fairly dry air into the area.

The relative humidity—a measure of the amount of moisture in the air relative to the maximum amount the air can contain at its actual air temperature— has also been very low due to warmer-than-usual temperatures and lower-than-usual moisture.

A weather map shows the high-pressure system over the Southeast keeping conditions dry. — A weather map from the Global Forecast System for April 23, 2026, shows the forecasted low-pressure (red L) and high-pressure (blue H) systems. Pivotal Weather

As a result of these conditions, trees, grass and leaves dry out and can quickly become fuel for wildfires. That kind of dry fuel is widespread throughout rural areas of Georgia and north Florida.

Once a fire starts, whether from lightning, power lines or other human sources, strong winds can spread it rapidly in these conditions. Georgia fire officials said the largest fire in mid-April, near the Florida state line, started with a spark from welding equipment that ignited surrounding vegetation. They believe a mylar balloon hitting a power line sparked the fire that burned dozens of homes in Brantley County.

What’s Ahead?

As global temperatures rise, the frequency of drought conditions in the Southeast will increase. This, in combination with less soil moisture content in the summer, could be conducive for increased wildfire activity.

Wildfires do eventually burn out. It takes a combination of help from the atmosphere, with moisture to douse them, and firefighters clearing away dry fuel to stop their spread.

Georgia and Florida may get a reprieve soon from the weather, as multiple low-pressure systems are forecast for the region in late April and early May that could bring rainfall. In the meantime, more than half of Georgia’s counties are under a state of emergency, as several agencies battle the flames to protect homes with helicopters in the air and scores of firefighters on the ground.

Extreme Drought Is Only Part of the Cause