The two maps below show the tremendous difference a tropical system can make in dampening the effects of a drought. The map at left shows drought conditions in Georgia as of Tuesday, August 19th, when almost ten percent of the state was in exceptional drought conditions and only two percent was drought free. The right hand map shows conditions as of Tuesday morning the 26th at 7 AM. Now, none of the state is in exceptional drought, and 16% is drought free.

Remember, the cutoff for the drought maps was 7 AM Tuesday, which was before a good bit of the rain hit North Georgia, so I expect to see continued improvement with next week’s drought monitor as well. Lake Lanier has also risen just over two feet from the rainfall brought on by Fay.

The weather service has investigated the severe weather brought about by Fay, and has issued a report saying that there were six tornadoes in Georgia brought on by the storm. Most of the damage was in Hall and Jackson counties. Three EF1 tornadoes with 90 MPH winds were verified in Hall, where trees were knocked down and damage was reported to an elementary school.

Another tornado with 100 MPH winds touched down near Commerce in Jackson County, while two additional EF0 tornadoes with 70 MPH winds were reported in Monroe and Wilkes counties.

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The June heat wave continued to set records today throughout the east coast. Here are some of the new records:

Atlanta: 98 degrees, with the old record of 97 set in 1995. In addition, this morning’s low temperature of 76 was warmer than the previous high minimum temperature for June 9th of 75 degrees.
Athens: 102 degrees, besting the previous record of 99, set in 1926.
Columbus: 97 ties the record set back in 1986
Macon: 100 ties the previous record from 1954.

Other locations in Georgia, including Augusta, Gainesville, Albany and Savannah also saw highs in the upper 90s, but failed to break any records. Here at my unofficial weather station, I recorded 97 degrees around 2:30 PM. Additional records from around the eastern seaboard:

Raleigh, North Carolina - 99 degrees breaks previous record of 98 set in 1999
Richmond, Virginia - Tied record high of 98 set in 1999.
Atlantic City NJ - 98 degrees beats previous record of 96 set in 1984
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Tied record high of 95 set in 1999
Hartford, Connecticut - Tied record high of 96 set in 1984
Providence, Rhode Island - 97 degrees tops previous record 95 set in 1984
New York LaGuardia Airport high temperature of 99 tops previous record of 95 from 1984
Newark, New Jersey ties old record of 99 set in 1933

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The Mother’s Day weekend storm brought late-season weather misery to much of the country over the weekend, and continues to cause trouble in the Northeast US. And, it looks like the rainy weather is likely to continue.

The storm initially caused tornadoes in Oklahoma and Missouri before moving into Georgia early Sunday morning. The Atlanta area was placed under a tornado watch as early as Saturday afternoon and the storms struck overnight, with two EF2 tornadoes striking in Carroll and Douglas counties shortly after 4 AM. It had a 25 mile long path, and caused large scale property damage.

An hour later, a third tornado tore into Clayton county near I-675. Also an EF2, this storm had a 13 mile track into Henry, Rockdale and Newton counties with wind speeds of up to 130 MPH. Further south, yet another EF2 tornado caused considerable damage in the city of Macon when it went through Bibb and Twiggs counties, including destroying two businesses and creating a lot of damage at Macon State College.

The fifth tornado caused one death and three injuries as it moved through Laurens county north of Dublin around 6:30 AM. It destroyed several mobile homes in its seven mile path. It was also an EF2. Another tornado touched down near Vidalia around 7:30 AM, and the Weather Service thinks that more tornadoes may have touched down elsewhere in the state.

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Some folks in North Georgia got an unusual late March sight: snow flurries fell briefly this afternoon.  Although it was 45 degrees outside, much colder air aloft combined with lower pressure caused by a short wave passing through squeezed out just enough moisture for the flakes, which melted on contact with the ground. Temperatures today are 20 degrees cooler than normal, and the northern two thirds of the state will see a freeze tonight.  If you succumbed to the spring planting urge over the weekend, either bring your plants in, or at least cover them over.

Tonight’s freeze won’t be anywhere near as bad as the Easter Freeze of 2007. though.  Not only is it likely to be a bit warmer than the 28 degrees recorded last April, but not as many plants have started to bloom. A freeze in late March isn’t too unusual.  For metro Atlanta, the typical last frost occurs sometime between April 1st and April 15th.

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The last 24 hours have brought perhaps the most significant severe weather to North Georgia since the Dunwoody tornadoes back in April, 1998.

National Weather Service officials said that a F2 tornado touched down at Simpson Road and Burbank Drive just west of the Georgia dome at 9:38 PM Friday night. The 200 yard wide twister traveled through downtown Atlanta and proceeded about six miles, until it ended at Braeburn and Josephine Roads in DeKalb County.

There was extensive damage to the Georgia Dome, where viewers of the SEC Basketball tournament were surprised when things began to sway. Additional damage was reported throughout downtown, including the CNN building and Centennial Olympic Park. Fortunately, no one was killed in the evening storm. You can read about the storm here, here and here.

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