Most of Georgia south of the mountains – which means most of the state – is now in extreme drought, according to the Office of the State Climatologist.
“The outlook for near-term drought relief is not promising,” David Emory Stooksbury, state climatologist and a University of Georgia professor of engineer and atmospheric sciences, said in a news release.
“Unless Georgia experiences some tropical weather over the next few months, the state can expect below-normal rainfall and above-normal temperatures,” Stooksbury said.
This means soil will get even more parched, stream flows and reservoir levels will keep dropping and the chances of wildfire “are expected to remain high to extreme,” he said.
Channel 2 Action News meteorologist David Chandley said, "This is not good news for metro Atlanta and North Georgia."
But of greater concern to Chandley is the coming winter “recharge period” of December, January and February, when rains refill the area’s lakes, rivers and streams.
“Yes we are dry now, but a good tropical system could be very beneficial in the short term,” he said. ”Remember, statistically September and October are our driest months, so it wouldn't take much to go above the normals. It’s the dry winter months that could bring major water supply issues for metro Atlanta and North Georgia.”
In the Atlanta area, extreme drought now cuts across Carroll, Clayton, Douglas, Henry, Rockdale, south Fulton and Walton counties and extends to every county to the south.
The situation within the metro region is mixed, with Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, DeKalb, Hall, Paulding and south Gwinnett counties in severe drought, and north Fulton, north Gwinnett and Forsyth counties in moderate drought.
Streams across north Georgia are posting record low flows, including Sweetwater Creek near Austell and the Etowah River near Canton, Stooksbury said.
And water levels of major reservoirs on the Chattahoochee, Etowah and Savannah rivers-- including Lakes Lanier and Allatoona, the sources of drinking water for many metro Atlanta residents – are falling.
AJC.com reported Tuesday that Lake Lanier’s level of 1,064.89 feet above sea level was just over six feet below “full pool,” which is 1,071 feet. That level was about 14 feet above the lake’s record low mark of 1,050.79 feet recorded on Dec. 28, 2007, at the height of the region’s last severe drought.
The level at Lake Allatoona -- 833.61 feet -- was also just over six feet below that reservoir’s full pool of 840 feet above sea level.
In a related development, the Army Corps of Engineers has raised the drought level on reservoirs on the Georgia-South Carolina state line, reducing water discharges from lakes Hartwell, Russell and Thurmond.
Corps manager Stan Simpson says water levels are expected to decline over the next several weeks unless there is a tropical system. The corps says water levels will be ample for fishing, boating and skiing on the lakes during the Labor Day weekend. But officials warn that underwater obstacles will be closer to the surface.
The Severe Weather Team 2 forecast for metro Atlanta sees little chance of rain until Sunday. Mostly sunny skies and daytime high temperatures in the lower 90s are predicted the next few days.
Up-to-date information on dry conditions across the state can be found at this UGA website.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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