Even though temperatures have dipped some, the drought is lingering in metro Atlanta.
“Ironically, the dry and warm weather was good for maturing and harvesting of peanuts and cotton,” National Weather Service meteorologist David Miskus said.
But those conditions have limited seed growth for winter grains and created inopportune pasture conditions, he said.
Conditions have not improved since a northwest corner of Georgia entered an "exceptional" drought, the most severe classification. Additional parts of metro Atlanta entered an "extreme" drought last week, according to data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. Extreme is the second-most severe classification.
Lake Lanier, which is Atlanta’s source of drinking water, saw lake levels decrease slightly from 1,064.40 feet last week to 1,063.97 feet Friday. The full pool level for summer is 1,071 feet.
Rainfall last seven days: 0
Rainfall this month: 0.81
Rainfall deficit for the year: 6.56
Rainfall deficits since Sept. 1: 1.85
Values in inches as of end of day Thursday
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