Widely Scattered Rain Benefits Some, But Drought Continues
I hope you were one of the lucky ones that got some meaningful rainfall from this weekend’s storms. Despite the thunder that rolled through much of Gwinnett County beginning around 7 PM on Saturday, precipitation amounts varied widely, with the area south of US 78 seeming to get the most benefit. I spoke to one person east of Snellville and south of 78 that measured 2 1/2 inches of rain Saturday night, while here, near Brookwood High School, I recorded less than a tenth of an inch. Another friend reported seeing heavy rain just south of Sugarloaf Parkway in Lawrencevile, while yet another person, who lives about 1 1/2 miles away from me said she had an inch. If you missed the rain, and barring some stray showers tonight, it looks like you may have to go until next weekend before seeing any meaningful precipitation.
The Weather Service has increased the portion of Georgia subject to a severe drought to much of the central portion of the state, although, generally south of metro Atlanta. At Hartsfield Airport, only 26% of normal July rainfall has fallen. The trees are beginning to show the effects of the drought. In addition to the tulip trees losing leaves, I’ve seen some dead dogwoods and conifers.
So, I guess we’ll have to keep watering the lawns and gardens — of course following the state’s watering restrictions. The good news for Gwinnett is that there is plenty of capacity for the water supply — including outdoor watering. The watering restrictions are not too onerous, and help people follow best practices — watering early or late in the day when less water is lost to evaporation, and watering heavily once or twice a week rather than lightly every day.
And, if you’re worried about the mussels in Florida falling victim to Atlanta’s rapacious water use from Lake Lanier, I encourage you to read this article that was published in last week’s AJC. It illustrates how politics may play a greater role in the water wars than you might think.
Both the short term and medium range forecasts indicate that dryer than normal weather will continue through the first two weeks of August. This week, the nation will see a second wave of hot weather move from west to east. In Georgia, we’ll see temperatures in the mid to upper 90s, and some locations may break the century mark.
Our normal high should be around 89 degrees, the warmest of the year. The normal high doesn’t begin to go down for another two weeks, and will be 86 degrees by the end of August. Tropical weather, which has been quiet compared to last year, may begin to affect our weather in the next two weeks, with two tropical waves showing the potential to develop into depressions or storms.
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