I got a comment from Matt asking how we’re doing with the drought, given the recent rainfall, and rather than answering his question in another comment, I decided to do a new post.

In reality, with 9.79 inches of Atlanta is still behind what would be ‘normal’ rainfall by 2.44 inches as of yesterday, and some of that deficit has been reduced by today’s storms.  However, we are doing better than as of this time last year.  In 2007, Atlanta had recorded only 7.71 inches by March 14th, 2.08 inches less than in 2008.  In Gainesville, which has had 10.74 inches of rain so far, they are ahead by 2.17 inches.  Here in Lawrenceville, I’m only showing .86 inches more rain than this time last year, but keep in mind I don’t have an ‘official’ rain gauge.

Even though actual rainfall varies across the metro area, it’s probably safe to say that we’re two inches ahead of where we were this time last year.  Plus, in 2007, the second half of March ended up being rain-free, so by the end of this month, we are likely to be even further ahead of 2007.

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It’s probably just coincidence that on the day with the most rainfall since last December, Gwinnett County clarified its plans for outdoor watering this spring. While the county has gone along with the state and allowed the filling of swimming pools, it has declined, at least for the moment, to go with the relaxed hand watering rules announced by the governor a few weeks ago.

In mid-December, the county commission passed a water conservation resolution (PDF) that set limits on outdoor watering that were more restrictive than the state’s level four watering restrictions in effect at the time.  The resolution limited the state’s exemption for watering of new or reconditioned landscape to watering on ten of the first 30 days following installation or reconditioning. The resolution also requires that exempted homeowners and businesses post a sign visible from the right of way stating the exempted area, the installation date, the firm doing the installation/reconditioning, and the property owner’s name.

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Back on Christmas, I posted that 2007 was not going to be the driest year ever recorded in Atlanta, given the Christmas rains. I also quoted the record as having been set in 1931.  Well, reviewing my sources, I found I was half right.  The 1931 amount was for rain through December 12th, not December 31st. They must have had more than two inches of rain in the last three weeks of December that year, because the actual record for the entire year is held by 1954, with 31.8 inches of rainfall.

With the good soaking we got on Friday, Atlanta’s rainfall total now stands at 30.55 inches for the year, or 1.26 fewer inches than the record amount of 1954.  There’s a reasonable chance that we’ll see that much tonight and tomorrow, but it really depends on where the bulk of the precipitation falls. Right now, a surface front lies across Georgia from southwest to northeast.  The exact position of the front will determine the amount of rainfall we see, but the HPC is calling for a band of two inch rainfall roughly between Columbus and Greenville, SC.  It may very well be that since Atlanta’s official rain gauge is at Hartsfield Airport on the southside, where more rain is expected, the record will be avoided.

In any case, the rain is welcome, although it’s going to be followed by colder weather to usher in the new year. Look for temperatures in the low 20s Wednesday morning, and highs only in the 40s on Wednesday.  By Thursday, we start returning to more normal temperatures, and even above normal temperatures for the first two weeks of the new year, with high temperatures reaching into the 60s, 15 degrees above normal. Lows should be in the 40s, also well above what we would expect to see in early January.

Meanwhile, tropical weather may be getting ready to make a late season appearance.  The National Hurricane Center is reporting that a low pressure system 950 miles southwest of the Azores is developing tropical characteristics, and could become a subtropical storm by Sunday morning.  We already had  Subtropical Storm Olga make a late appearance in mid December, so something is not out of the question.

Depending on where you were, you may have been disappointed with the Thanksgiving Day rainfall totals. Here in Lawrenceville, I recorded .15 inches for the storm, which is less than many other areas did. Looking at the radar as the storm passed over the Atlanta metro area, most of the rainfall seemed to be to the north of Georgia 316, and that’s borne out by some of the precipitation reports:

Athens: 1.17 inches (they really needed it)
Gainesville: .46 inches
Johns Creek: .93 inches
Alpharetta: 1.09 inches
Rome: .87 inches
Atlanta: .16 inches

The good news is that we’re due for some more rain before the month ends, and then at the beginning of December. Cooler air is beginning to filter into the state from northwest to southeast, and Friday should be a sunny, if cool, day for shopping or golf. (Someone told me that the day after Thanksgiving is one of the biggest days for golf - the ladies go shopping and the men to golfing.)

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Some of North Georgia got some welcome rain on Tuesday, as the front ahead of the low pressure system moved across the state yesterday afternoon. Here in Lawrenceville, I recorded .97 inches of precipitation yesterday, with most of the rain coming between 6 and 7 PM. That’s the most rain recorded here in a single day since back on August 24th, two months ago. As of now, a total of 1.3 inches of rain has fallen here from this system. By the way, the runoff from my roof was enough to fill a 250 gallon storage tank I installed and attached to two downspouts.

Other parts of the state have seen varying amounts. Here are some rainfall numbers from yesterday:

Atlanta Hartsfield: .56 inches
Alpharetta: .84 inches
Allatoona Dam: .66 inches
Athens: .27 inches
Cleveland: .38 inches
Cumming: .30 inches
Gainesville: .16 inches
Helen: .55 inches
Rome: .62 inches

Overall, it looks like there might have been less rain in the northeast part of the state containing the Lanier basin than here, but it’s probably going to be more useful to look at the storm total precipitation - rainfall today is likely to occur in the Georgia mountains. That being said, it looks like the bulk of the precipitation is over with from this system.

Water Restrictions Update

Ever since the state started level 4 water restrictions late last month, state EPD Director Carol Couch has been researching recommendations to further reduce water usage, with a report expected to be given to Governor Perdue this week. That report has been issued, and the result is that the Governor has ordered all water suppliers to reduce consumption in their systems by 10% from their average usage last winter, beginning November 1st. Systems out of compliance will face as of yet unspecified fines.

While some of the usual suspects have decried the move by the Governor as showing a lack of leadership, in the long run, it moves the responsibility for deciding how to allocate water usage to the local level, where specific needs can be evaluated within the city or county, and decisions can be made that will ultimately affect the economic well being of that county. Did you really want some minion in the state EPD to decide on further water restrictions that might be appropriate for, let’s say Atlanta, but don’t fit the needs of a county like Gwinnett or Hall?

Meanwhile, state climatologist David Stooksbury is holding a press conference in Athens tomorrow morning to discuss the current drought situation, and the long range outlook for winter and spring. I look forward to hearing what he has to say.