Drought's hold on Ga. greatly diminished

Recent rains have greatly diminished the drought's grip on Georgia.

Since we last reported on data from the U.S. Drought Monitor four weeks ago (see first link below), all "extreme" and "exceptional" conditions have disappeared from the state.

The latest report, released Thursday morning, shows of the northern tier of counties, north of metro Atlanta and Athens, is drought-free. As for the rest of north Georgia, there are still a few counties where drought conditions range from "abnormally dry" to "moderate" or "severe."

That's the same for the rest of the state.

Since the first of the year, Georgia has been receiving beneficial rains as have other states in the Southeast. At times, though, the rains have produced flooding and have come from storm systems that produced strong thunderstorms and spawned tornadoes.

As for the level of drought-plagued Lake Lanier, it continues to recover. Thursday morning it was almost within 1.5 feet of winter full pool, which is 1070. The reading was 1068.56.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service said Thursday the country can expect a continuation of the drought which is affecting not just Georgia but much of the nation, as well. (See separate story. Third link below.)