March ending as one of the driest on record

UNDATED - Barring an unexpected rain of flash flood proportions Wednesday, March 2004 is going to end as one of the driest Marches on record in Gainesville and elsewhere in north Georgia.

March is usually the wettest month of the year in north Georgia, but has been extremely dry in most places this year.

For instance, here in Gainesville, six inches of rain is the "norm" for the month, but as of midnight Tuesday, only 1.31 nches had been recorded by the accessnorthga.com weather center.

Nearly six-tenths of that (.57) fell since Sunday. More rain is forecast Wednesday.

Experts have said, however, it's too early to say if the dry spell signals a return of the prolonged drought that ended a couple of years ago.