As Hurricane Helene's death toll continues to rise, with severe flooding and damage to South Georgia, the Florida panhandle and western North Carolina, the news from the storm has been much better in Northeast Georgia.
The storm's sudden eastward turn after it made landfall as a category 4 hurricane in the Big Bend area of Florida September 26 left Northeast Georgia largely out of the path of its most serious effects. While widespread power outages and road impacts were reported in Habersham, Rabun and Stephens counties, the lasting effects of Helene locally are instead drought-busting rainfall.
In the months leading up to Helene, all of North and even Middle Georgia had experienced drought conditions, with some parts of Northwest Georgia getting as bad as the U.S. Drought Monitor's "Extreme Drought" status. Just a week before Helene's arrival, all counties in the northeast part of the state were under at least moderate drought status.
Thursday morning, the drought monitor released its first report on conditions since Helene, and it shows the entire region being drought-free. Only the northwest corner of Georgia is still under "Abnormally Dry" status, with the nearest such conditions being the northwest corner of Fannin County.
Hall County emergency officials told WDUN the day after the storm arrived that they believe just over eight inches of rain fell in the county from September 25 through September 27. That rainfall also had an immediate impact on Lake Lanier.
The lake had seen declining water levels dating back to early May. After hitting a high water level of 1,071.98 feet on May 10, the lake steadily declined through the summer drought to a low of 1,067.36 feet the day before the first rainfall related to Helene arrived. That number was more than three-and-a-half feet below full pool.
Then, in a six-day period, the lake rose roughly three full feet, topping out at a level of 1,070.32 feet on September 30.
As of October 3, all storm-related power outages in Northeast Georgia has been restored by area EMCs. Several local organizations are continuing to collect donations to send to those in more severely affected areas.
