Weather stories during droughts all read the same: Yes, it’s raining. But, no, the drought hasn’t broken.
This story is different.
Drought-stricken sections of Georgia can expect welcome downpours of tropical moisture the first half of this week — without unwelcome tropical storms — that could go a long way toward rehydrating many of the state’s key agricultural regions.
As much as one-half inch of rain fell across metro Atlanta late Saturday and through Sunday, with more on the way. David Chandley, a meteorologist for Channel 2 Action News, said the Atlanta area should receive another 1 to 2 inches of “good, rich tropical moisture” by Wednesday. It’s not quite enough to make up for the year’s more than 4-inch rainfall deficit, but Chandley described the precipitation as “beneficial.”
And areas south of Atlanta could receive even more rain — “good news,” Chandley said, for central Georgia and southwest Georgia, the driest parts of the state. The region is benefitting from a weekend storm that dropped more than 10 inches of rain on Mobile, and more 13 inches on the Pensacola, Fla., area, where flooding damaged dozens of homes.
In Georgia, “this is falling in the right places right now,” Chandley said Sunday.
The rain arrived just after the release of a U.S. Drought Monitor report that said nearly 90 percent of Georgia is experiencing drought, with half in extreme or exceptionally dry conditions. Unlike the historic dry spell that gripped metro Atlanta from 2007 to 2009, prompting legislators to limit water use, the worst problems this time are farther south, presenting a greater challenge for the state’s farmers.
“It’s significant and important,” said Bill Murphey, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s state climatologist, said in an email late last week. “Any long-term drought takes a while to recover from, especially in the exceptional drought areas.”
Georgia has endured some level of drought for more than two years, he added.
Pam Knox, agricultural climatologist for the University of Georgia, said the mild winter contributed to the current problem. Last month saw drought levels worse than those recorded in May 2007, she said.
Even before the latest precipitation, agricultural experts say, the state was getting enough intermittent rain to keep crops growing. But longer term, the drought is straining well reserves. If the water table keeps dropping, farmers would have to dig deeper wells.
Smaller growers who rely on Mother Nature — and not large-scale irrigation systems — are struggling. Lewis Wheeler, who raises beef cattle on a 100-acre farm in Greensboro, is among them.
His cattle graze for food, he said, but with the dry conditions, the grass isn’t growing enough to sustain them through the upcoming summer. He’ll soon purchase hay to make up for the food shortage.
“I’ve had to cut back,” said Wheeler, who has about 50 head of cattle. “I’m culling my animals now so I won’t have to feed as much hay.”
Wheeler said farmers in his area have struggled the past two years, but things aren’t quite as bad as they were in the mid-to-late 2000s.
“It’s really hard to compare,” said Wheeler, 62. “It’s better than it was six years ago, but not much.”
Metro Atlanta hasn’t been hit as hard as other parts of the state.
Kevin Chambers, a spokesman for the Georgia EPD, said the water level in Lake Lanier — which supplies water for nearly 5 million metro Atlanta residents — is not as low today as in 2007.
Further, the last drought prompted policy changes and elevated Atlantans’ awareness of water consumption. The state Legislature enacted the Water Stewardship Act in 2010, mandating water-efficient fixtures statewide, limits on outdoor watering and standards for reducing system leaks.
“I think people are really sensitive since the last drought,” Knox said. “Water use has never gone quite back to the way it was before.”
Atlanta’s water use per day has indeed dropped since 2007, from 110.4 million gallons per day to 94.9 million in 2011, according to a spokeswoman from the city’s Department of Watershed Management.
It’s unclear whether the reduction is due to individuals using less or industries such as construction and manufacturing cutting back because business is slow.
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