Rainy months may signal an end to the drought

ALBANY - Frequent rains in September and October have raised the water levels in streams and reservoirs and may be a sign that Georgia&#39;s nearly 5-year-old drought is beginning to ease, weather experts say. <br> <br> Jim Noel, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, said the 12.33 inches of rain in the Atlanta area during September and October made it the fifth wettest for the period since the 1880s. The wettest September and October occurred in 1888 when 18.25 inches fell in the area. <br> <br> Noel attributes the soggy conditions to a more active tropical weather season in Georgia and a dip in the jet stream, possibly related to a weak-to-moderate El Nino forming in the Pacific Ocean. <br> <br> El Nino, a warm ocean current that flows south off the coast of Ecuador, usually around Christmas, can increase rainfall in the southern United States. <br> <br> ``Stream levels are improving,&#39;&#39; Noel said Thursday. ``The big water-supply lakes in north Georgia and South Carolina are still running 5 to 10 feet below normal, but they are continuing to improve and that&#39;s good news.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Noel said there are indications the wet weather will continue through November and possibly into winter, ``which would be good news for wiping out the drought in Georgia.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Experts say the short-term drought already has ended. That means less risk of wildfires and greener lawns for homeowners, but no end of water restrictions throughout the state. <br> <br> Normally, the improved soil moisture would be good news for farmers, but the timing of the showers has left many fields too soggy to support heavy harvesting equipment. <br> <br> As of Sunday, only 51 percent of the cotton crop and 86 percent of the peanut crop had been harvested 8 percent and 9 percent, respectively, less than the five-year average. The quality of both crops suffers the longer they sit in the fields. <br> <br> October was an especially wet month with 5.94 inches of rain in Atlanta, 2.8 inches above normal; 3.58 inches in Columbus, 1.25 above normal; and 4.8 inches in Macon, 2.4 inches above normal. Despite its 3.3 inches of rain, Athens finished the month two-tenths of an inch below normal. <br> <br> ``The agricultural short-term drought is essentially eliminated around the state,&#39;&#39; said Pam Knox, the assistant state climatologist. ``The long-term drought is still lingering, but that is not at all surprising considering how dry we&#39;ve been over the past four years. Northwest Georgia is essentially out of all drought. For a long time, they have not been as severely hit as other parts of the state.&#34;