Drought intensifies in Georgia, raising wildfire concerns across dry, warm conditions

We're tracking extreme and even exceptional drought conditions across the state of Georgia.

Brand new data released Thursday from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows worsening conditions across the state. The report is a collaboration between the USDA, the National Drought Mitigation Center, the Department of Commerce, NOAA, and NASA.

As of Thursday, most of Georgia is experiencing some level of drought.

The worst conditions are in South Georgia, where deeper red shading on the map indicates an "exceptional drought," the highest category on the scale.

That level of drought signals dangerous fire risk and extremely dry conditions.

Over the next several days, no rain is in the forecast, and temperatures are expected to climb into the upper 80s, near 90 degrees.

Low humidity, dry vegetation, and a lack of rain will keep fire danger elevated through next week and likely beyond.

Any fires that start could spread quickly. One positive change is that the stronger winds seen earlier in the week have diminished as an area of high pressure over New England and low pressure over the Bahamas continue to weaken and move offshore.

Earlier in the week, those systems created a pressure gradient that increased wind speeds. Combined with dry conditions, that raised fire concerns.

Stay tuned to CBS News Atlanta for continuing updates on this developing weather situation.

Below is the latest from the U.S. Drought Monitor.