Recent Rain is Lifting Athens, Ga., Out of the Drought

Nowhere in Georgia is now classified as Level 4, extreme drought, which is dangerous.

  The rain the area has received since the beginning of January is helping to ease dought conditions that have plagued Athens and most of Georgia since last summer, and months before. The cisterns are full and the rivers are rising. In January, says climatologist Pam Knox of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Athens got 7.36 inches of rain, putting us .6 ahead of the normal amount of 6.76 inches. "And we're expecting rain later this week, so that should help," Knox said. "Right now, we're a little above normal." In Central Georgia, dought conditions have lessened, thanks to the rain, moving from Level 4, exceptional drought, to Level 3, extreme drought. The acquifer levels are still low, Knox said, adding that it will …

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Community Photos

After the Rain

Check out this amazing photo of rain drops on leaves, submitted by a Patch reader, then upload one of your own for a chance to win a Patch gear prize pack.

Have you taken any interesting photos or videos lately?  Upload them now and one of them might be chosen as our next featured photo! Each week we're giving away a Patch gear prize pack to one winner selected at random from the readers whose photos are featured Monday through Saturday. The winner will be announced Sunday. Photos uploaded to the Featured Photos articles or to one of our neighborhood galleries qualify.

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Rain Rain, Come Again!

It refreshed us, but we need a similar storm every day for a month to make up the deficit.

Hey! Stop watering your newly sodded lawn like there’s no tomorrow. One good rain doesn’t mean a lot to the State Climatologist, David Stooksbury, a UGA faculty member. And maybe it shouldn’t mean much to you either. In the last 30 days, we’ve gotten less than 50 percent of our normal rainfall. Go back a little further, to April. In the past 60 days, only 47 percent of the normal amount of rain has fallen, says Stooksbury. Thank goodness for March. Now we’re looking at 70 percent of normal rainfall. Athens sits between a rock and hard place when it comes to rain. To the north of us, conditions are abnormally dry, Stooksbury says. To the south, there’s an extreme drought baking everything to a crisp. Guess the pain we are feeling isn't all …

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