The majority of Georgia has primarily a humid subtropical climate tempered somewhat by occasional polar air masses in the winter. Hot and humid summers are typical, except at the highest elevations. The entire state, including the north Georgia mountains, receives moderate to heavy precipitation, which varies from 45 inches (1,100 mm) in central Georgia to approximately 75 inches (1,900 mm) around the Northeast part of the state. The degree to which the weather of a certain area of Georgia is subtropical depends not just on the latitude, but also on how close it is to the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico and the altitude. This is especially true in the mountainous areas in the northern part of the state, which are further away from ocean waters and can be up to 4,500 feet (1,400 m) or higher above sea level.

In spite of having moderate weather compared to many other states, Georgia has occasional extreme weather. The highest temperature ever recorded is 112 °F (44 °C), while the lowest ever recorded is −17 °F (−27 °C). Georgia is one of the leading states in incidents of tornadoes. The areas closest to the Florida border get the same small F0 and F1 tornadoes associated with summer afternoon thunderstorms. However, it is very uncommon for tornadoes to become severe (over F3). As it is on the Atlantic coast, Georgia is also vulnerable to hurricanes, although the Georgia coastline only rarely experiences a direct hurricane strike. More common are hurricanes which strike the Florida panhandle, weaken over land, and bring strong tropical storm winds and heavy rain to the Georgia interior, as well as hurricanes that come close to the Georgia coastline, brushing the coast on their recurvature on the way up to hit the Carolinas.

In 2006 and 2007, however, Georgia has had severe droughts, especially in 2007. Temperatures over 100 degrees have been recorded.

Georgia is made up of more than 500 cities in 159 counties within 14 congressional districts. The map to the right shows the county boundaries for all 159 counties in Georgia.

149 of the 159 counties in the state are governed by a committee made of between three and eleven commissioners while the other 10 counties are overseen by a single commissioner. All commissioners are elected by the voters of their county for terms that range between two and six years with most counties having terms lasting four years. Serving members wield both executive and legislative power in their county.

Most of the 536 cities in Georgia are governed by a mayor-council system. All municipalities in the state are considered cities. There are no lesser incorporations such as towns, villages, or boroughs. Most basic public services rendered outside of the cities are provided by the counties.

Georgia has almost eight million acres (32,000 km ) of prime farmland while over 60% of the land is made up of pine forests. Due to the great number of forested areas in the state Georgia produces more lumber and pulpwood than any other state east of the Mississippi river; from these forests come 74.4 percent of the rosins and turpentines (naval stores) produced in the United States, and over half of the world's supply. Both the agricultural areas and the waters of Georgia have created a thriving environment for hunting, fishing and game. The state of Georgia has much in the way of agricultural resources. Georgia has 70,150 miles (112,900 km) of streams and rivers, 425,000 acres (1,720 km ) of lakes, and approximately 4,500,000 acres (18,000 km ) of freshwater wetlands.
The geological resources of Georgia include many types of minerals, manganese, iron ore, copper, coal, oil, clays, stone, kaolin, sand and gravel.