Georgia Drought Levels
Level 1: Requires public water systems to educate customers about conditions and encourages conservation.
Level 2: Limits outdoor watering to two days a week on an odd-even schedule. Even-numbered addresses may water Wednesdays and Saturdays (4 p.m. to 10 a.m.); odd-numbered addresses may water Thursdays and Sundays (4 p.m. to 10 a.m.). No water for outdoor fountains, carwashes or power washing of homes.
Level 3: Prohibits all outdoor irrigation of landscapes. Food gardens may be watered between 4 p.m. and 10 a.m. (Soaker hoses and drip irrigation may be used any time.) Hand watering allowed during designated hours. Golf course irrigation limited.
Source: Georgia Division of Environmental Protection
First, the bad news, followed by the worse news:
No significant rain is expected for at least the next 10 days.
Nor will Georgia get out of its drought anytime soon.
That’s the double-barreled, gloomy assessment from the National Weather Service, where meteorologists for months have been watching a static weather pattern of dry days and nights, no rain in sight. More than 60 days have passed since Atlanta got rainfall totaling a quarter-inch.
Blame a high-pressure system, said Matt Sena, a meteorologist with the NWS. In late summer, it stalled over this part of the country, effectively creating a wall that’s repelled rain.
“We’ve seen very little in the way of storm systems,” he said.
On Thursday, state officials declared a Level 2 drought throughout 52 counties in metro Atlanta and North Georgia. That puts in place stiff new restrictions on water usage.
No one feels the drought more keenly than residents of the Georgia mountains, where thousands of acres are burning. Flames have run up ridges and down slopes, jumped creeks and roads. The region is enveloped by acrid smoke that's filled hollows and obscured mountaintops. Hundreds of firefighters from across the nation are battling blazes on federal, state and private lands. Some conflagrations are poised to destroy homes.
Atlanta is not about to get thoroughly wet anytime soon, said WSB-TV meteorologist Brad Nitz. Friday, he predicted more rainless days, augmented by lower temperatures. Friday, one of the warmest days for mid-November, was due to make way for cooler air moving in Saturday night. Sunday may dawn with freezing temperatures, he said.
Cold, yes, and dry. Any rain, he said, “will be light and diminishing.”
His assessment defines recent weather patterns. The Atlanta area normally would have had nearly 44 inches of rain by this date. This year, the total is not quite 33 inches.
Head north and the numbers are more sobering. Rome, for example, is down 17.5 inches on to-date rainfall totals. The last time a quarter-inch rainfall fell there: 81 days.
Those numbers will remain bad, said Sena, until other systems in the northern hemisphere begin to move. They may remain in place for a month or longer, he said. When they finally do move, the figurative high-pressure wall over us will crumble. The torrents for which we’ve longed will pour through that breach.
Until then, the news is bad — with this small glimmer of hope: The service expects a small amount of rain in the middle of next week. It’s supposed to sweep toward the northwest corner of the state.
In other words, hope for clouds with more than a silver lining.
Sena also cautioned rain-wishers to be patient. Rain, when it does come, has a lot of catching up to do.
“You don’t get in a drought in a month,” he said. “You don’t get out of a drought in a month.”
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