It has been wet but not quite wet enough to ease the drought just yet.
Despite several inches of rain falling in some parts of North Georgia in the past week, the drought has maintained its intensity for now.
The US Drought Monitor still lists most of North Georgia under a D1 or moderate drought.
Compared to last week we did see a drop in the amount of severe drought across the region with that area now being relegated to the far NW corner of the state and a large area to the southwest of Dawson and Hall Counties.
Cornelia has picked up 4″ of rain so far this month but that still leaves us with a 3-4″ rainfall deficit since June 1st. The total rainfall over the past 7 days has been very splotchy, with the afternoon storm coverage favoring the higher elevations primarily and more scattered heavy totals outside of that.
Droughts often take some time to ease up, even after seeing persistent rainfall and humid weather. The damage done by the lack of rain on the water table height and local plants and animals takes time to heal, but we are well on our way with the beneficial rain we have been seeing.
Luckily, the next 7 days promise to be just as wet as the last with an average of 2-3″ of rain expected across the region through the next week. Some areas will likely see higher amounts than that, and I expect to see another reduction in the moderate drought areas by next week.
Enjoy the rain!
