Lake Lanier to stay low through end of month

At the start of the annual winter-spring rainy period, when Lake Lanier generally refills, the prognosis is dry, according to federal meterologists.

That means the reservoir, metro Atlanta’s main source of drinking water, is expected to remain more than 13 feet below full through the first week of March. That’s more than 4 feet higher than the lake was this time last year.

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Vino Wong/vwong@ajc.com

Lake Lanier is expected to remain more than 13 feet below full.

MORE ON THE DROUGHT:
• Map: Heavy demands on our water
• Photos: April showers bring ...
• Photos: Lake rises dramatically in January


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• More on coping with the drought

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates Lanier, says the thunderstorms and showers on the way this weekend and next week will mostly bypass the watershed that drains to the lake. The basin is expected to receive only a half-inch of rain through next week.

So far in February, Lanier has received only 17 percent of the normal amount of water flowing in from rivers and streams.

The U.S. Drought Monitor released Thursday showed extreme and severe drought conditions persist in the northeast corner of the state — Lanier’s headwaters —while the rest of the state has slipped back into abnormally dry conditions.

The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting ongoing drought, with some improvement, in northwest Georgia through April.