Rainfall the past 10 days or so has helped push the level of Lake Lanier a bit higher and has eased the drought across north Georgia somewhat.
According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the lake level is up about a foot from a week ago. Sunday morning it stood at 1064.16, which is still about 6.8 feet below full pool. At the start of May, it was 1063.1. The lake level has risen about four feet since New Year's Day. A year ago, on Memorial Day weekend, it was close to full pool, at 1069.2.
Meanwhile, the drought has been eased but there are still a few counties in north Georgia where drought conditions still exist, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor's latest report which was issued last week.
"Drought-affected areas of the Southeast, including portions of Alabama and Georgia, experienced substantial relief, with rain still falling when the drought-monitoring period ended on May 23," according to a posting on the Monitor's Website. "The drought-easing effects of any rain that fell after 8 am EDT on Tuesday, May 23, will be reflected on (this) week’s map."
Currently, most of north Georgia is listed as drought-free but conditions in most of Lumpkin, White and Habersham counties are considered "severe." Drought conditions in the rest of those counties as well as the northwestern portion of Hall County are considered "moderate," the report says.
Click here for a closer look at drought conditions in Georgia and the rest of the country.
