This week officials in Jackson County closed the dock and boat ramp at Bear Creek reservoir because of low water levels. Brush fires are also a problem in some places.

This summer it’s been very dry in most of Georgia. Now, climate experts say those conditions will likely stick around. The National Weather Service has issued a La Nina watch for the fall, which means warmer, drier weather.

Assistant State Climatologist Pam Knox says this is not good for Georgia's current water situation with more than half the state in extreme drought. This new La Nina comes on the heels of last year’s.

“Most likely they last one year and then either go to neutral conditions or they go to the opposite, El Nino. It’s unusual that we’re having sort of a double dip La Nina."

Knox says the state's best chance for widespread drought relief would come from a gulf hurricane. Right now tropical storm Katia is forming in the Atlantic but forecasters say it’s too early to predict the storm’s path.

Tags: drought, Georgia weather, La Nina