The AccessNorthGa.com rain gauge recorded .91 inch Monday bringing the four-day total to just 3.03 inches.
Despite significant rainfall here and elsewhere in north Georgia, state climatologist David Stooksbury says it was more scattered in southern parts of Georgia.
Places such as Marietta and the Fulton County airport got at least three inches of rain over the weekend, said Laura Griffith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Meanwhile, Savannah, Athens and St. Simons Island all saw less than one inch. Valdosta got more than two inches of rain.
``Not everyone was able to participate in the bounty,'' Stooksbury said.
And even for areas that did see rain, it only means temporary drought relief.
``It takes many months to get into a drought,'' Stooksbury said. ``So, we're not going to get out of it in a weekend.''
However, the rain did prompt Atlanta officials Monday to drop the complete ban on outdoor watering ban that the city had issued last week. Instead, the city went back to statewide watering restrictions, which say certain addresses can water at certain times.
``We are still urging people to conserve water,'' Atlanta Department of Watershed Management Commissioner Robert Hunter said in a news release.
DeKalb County announced it would drop its total watering ban effective Thursday.
RELIEF FROM WILDFIRES
In addition, the rain has helped curb the abnormally high number of wildfires the state has seen this month.
Georgia has had nearly three times as many wildfires as are usually seen in June, said Alan Dozier, chief of forest protection for the Georgia Forestry Commission. But rain has brought the numbers down in recent days.
Georgia usually has 230 wildfires in June. But this month, the state has already had 670.
Last Wednesday, there were 53 wildfires across the state, Dozier said. But as rain moved in, the numbers began falling with 30 wildfires on Saturday and only 10 on Sunday, he said.
``During the worst part of June, we were running 60 or 70 wildfires a day,'' Dozier said.
But the possibility of continued dry conditions has officials nervously hoping for more wet weather, state Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner John Oxendine said.
``Anything can start a wildfire in dry conditions,'' he said.
FIREWORKS DANGER
But as the Fourth of July approaches, Georgia's continued dry weather has made it even more important that people not shoot off fireworks, Dozier said.
Fireworks that only emit sparks are the only type of fireworks private citizens can legally light in Georgia. But under the current conditions, even those can be risky, Dozier said.
Organized fireworks displays put on by local officials should still be safe, Dozier said.
``But I would really warn homeowners against what I call unsupervised fireworks displays,'' he said.
(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)
http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/6/108354