Recent Rain A Bonus To Georgia

Widespread, soaking rains in two of the past three weekends this month have given the state a much-needed boost in combating the drought.

It could be called a good start. State climatologists are cautiously optimistic that drought-ravaged Georgia has received some bonus rain as spring and consistently warmer temperatures arrive soon.

More of the weekend’s widespread rain fell in north Georgia, where the drought’s effects have been most severe.

Assistant state climatologist Pam Knox says all this rain has been very beneficial for the state’s short-term needs:

"We’re going to see that all of the precipitation that falls from the end of March on, is going to be used immediately either by the plants or taken away by evaporation. So the last couple weeks is really critical for building up a bank account if you will of soil moisture."

The state’s reservoirs have seen the benefit. Lake Lanier in particular is at its highest level since October of 2007--more than 1,058 feet. Still, the north Georgia reservoir is around 11 feet below full pool.

Knox says Georgia still needs months of above-normal rainfall to make a big dent in ground water levels.

State Seizes Dogs From North Georgia Kennel

State Agriculture officials have taken-in more than 130 dogs from a north Georgia kennel, citing unsanitary and unsafe conditions. The Atlanta Humane Society has accepted the dogs, and officials say most appear healthy and well-fed. The investigation of Richard’s Kennel near Cumming began after a customer complaint of a dog that had mange. Testing at the site however, revealed none of the kennel’s animals had the skin disease.

North Georgia Water Restrictions Get Slight Alteration

Partial relief has arrived for north Georgia residents under tough outdoor watering restrictions. Drip irrigation and soaker hoses are now OK to use for up to one hour--three days a week before 10am. However, the state’s top environmental official says nothing else has changed. State Enviromental Protection Division head Carol Couch says the 55-county north Georgia region remains in a record-setting drought, now moving into a fourth year.

Couch says the increase in north Georgia water use would be in a range she sees as acceptable. However, with an unreasonable rise in water use or worsening drought, the loosened restrictions could again be tightened in the future.

Weather Forces School Closings in North Georgia

The combination of light snow, some icy roads, and cold temperatures has prompted some north Georgia county school officials to cancel classes for students today.

There will be no school Tuesday for students in Fannin, Gilmer, Towns, Union, and Whitfield county schools. There is also no class today for students of Dalton Public Schools.

High temperatures across the state expected only in the low 30s north, to upper 40s in southern Georgia.

Good Dose of Rain Falls in North Georgia

North Georgia has already had a good dose of rain from the overnight hours, and more is on the way. Showers and possible thunderstorms are in the forecast for this afternoon in north and central Georgia. Forecasters say the north Georgia region could experience four or more inches of rainfall by tomorrow. To that end, a flood watch is in effect for the region well into Wednesday. Already Tuesday morning, a flood warning has been issued for the Etowah River below Dawsonville. That warning extends until late Tuesday night.

Friends and foundation remember slain hiker Emerson

One year ago, Meredith Emerson disappeared when she and her dog went for a hike New Year’s Day on Blood Mountain in north Georgia. Her body was found a week later. Her abductor was soon caught and convicted--Gary Michael Hilton is serving a life term for the murder.

Friends of Meredith Emerson in the past year have raised money through the created Right to Hike Foundation. It has donated five-thousand dollars to the University of Georgia, the school Emerson graduated from. The money helps support a scholarship in Emerson’s name. The Foundation has also purchased 15 GPS units--those have been distributed to hiking outposts in north Georgia.

North Georgia youth minister found dead

A church youth minister in north Georgia has been found dead. The body of 44-year-old Reverand Edward Frank Harris was found a little before 4am Monday morning in a yard in Cleveland. His family says Harris had called late Sunday night to say he was giving a ride to some people who were stranded. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been called in on the case to help police in Cleveland. Harris was youth minister at the Pendergrass Baptist Church.

Winter weather factors in death of north Georgia police chief

Winter weather conditions are to blame for a fatality in north Georgia Monday. The police chief of the small town of Nelson in north Georgia was killed in an accident along the Pickens-Cherokee County line. 32-year-old Clay Adams and a female passenger were on Georgia Highway 515 in Blue Ridge around noon when they were struck by another driver who lost control on a patch of ice. Adams’ car was struck head-on. Adams had been chief of Nelson for a little more than a year.

Winter weather closes some north Georgia schools

Snow was falling in some areas of northern-most Georgia this morning. Because of that, two school systems called-off classes for today--students in Fannin and Rabun counties get another day-off to extend their Thanksgiving holiday break.

The National Weather Service says there is a winter weather advisory in effect until 1am Tuesday morning for 10 northeast Georgia mountain counties. Forecasters say there could be snow accumulations of up to two inches for elevations above 2,500 feet.

Planning board offers new way to boost region

A so-called mega-region concept would help spur business development and lead to solving major problems in Georgia and neighboring states--so says a regional planning commission.

The proposal pushes the idea that different cities and communities can find more economic and problem-solving success by selling themselves as a group instead of individually. The Piedmont Atlantic MegaRegion would include communities from North Carolina through parts of Georgia into Alabama.

The concept comes from the Atlanta Regional Commission, a planning group for the metro Atlanta area. ARC chairman Sam Olens says this approach can make it easier to attract international business. And with a down economy, it’s even more critical.

"When you’re in a bad economy, instead of sulking about the economy, let’s make the plans so when the economy improves we’re in fifth gear maximizing that potential strength. So now’s the time to in fact create those partnerships so you get out of the starting gate faster."

Olens says a good example of an area with name recognition is Raleigh-Durham’s Research Triangle.

He says the mega-region concept could also lead to solutions for Georgia’s transportation and water resource problems.

Gas crunch may be easing

The gas supply crunch appears to be easing in many parts of north Georgia. A combination of more supply arriving from the Gulf, and drivers’ conservation has made lines shorter at stations, and improved station supplies. Officials report one key pipeline into Georgia is operating at full capacity--another is at least at 80-percent. Wednesday, more good news came in the form of a letter from federal energy officials. They’ve agreed to send an additional 900,000 barrels of oil to Gulf refineries to help boost production. Since early September, U.S. officials have released over five-and-a-half million barrels from the Strategic Reserve since a pair of hurricanes in the Gulf region.

Perdue shines conservation light on Covington plant

In the face of the state’s historic drought, Governor Sonny Perdue was in Newton County Wednesday to shine a light on a food production plant’s water conservation efforts.

Perdue lauded a General Mills plant in Covington and its state-of-the-art water treatment facility. Company officials say since coming on-line two years ago, the system has cut the plant’s water costs in half by recycling water. They say the system has saved 100-million gallons of water so far.

Perdue says those savings can grow the surrounding area:

"It means that the cap-the permitting capacity of water treatment that this community was under, will be able to be utilized for more people who want to come here, and to grow the community economically, grow it from a talent perspective and grow it from a employee perspective".

Perdue says north Georgia needs to keep saving water to boost the region’s largest reservoirs.

Last month, Lake Lanier got some help from Mother Nature--rain from Tropical Storm Fay help raise Lanier by almost 2-and-a-half feet.

Needed rain continues to fall in north Georgia

The rain continues to fall in most areas of north Georgia this morning, and that is good news for the region of the state gripped with severe drought conditions. Matt Sena with the National Weather Service in Peachtree City says this multiple-day run of precipitation is significant.

"It's hard to bust a drought with one event but we have the potential to put a pretty big dent in it".

Forecasters say the rain has a good chance to continue well into Wednesday in north Georgia. Most everywhere will get at least an inch of rain, with many areas more than that. Throughout today, a flash flood watch is in effect for north Georgia, as well as west and portions of central Georgia.

Meanwhile, reports from Lake Lanier are positive. The federal reservoir that feeds much of metro Atlanta’s drinking water rose 3 inches in less than 24 hours time.

'Fay' rain might boost north Georgia

Drought-ravaged north Georgia could be in for major relief over the next 24-36 hours.

"It’s hard to bust a drought with one event but we have a potential to put a pretty big dent in it".

Matt Sena of the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City says already this morning, the remnants of tropical storm Fay have paid dividends. 2-3 inches of rain has been recorded at the upper end of the Chattahoochee River Basin--by Lake Lanier.

Sena says the 3-5 inches of rain that could fall across most of north Georgia by Tuesday night would be different than recent summertime patterns for the region.

"During the summer months we’ll see a 3-4 inch rainfall amount out of some of these thunderstorms but it will be a very isolated area so it doesn’t produce a lot of runoff into the mainstream rivers. This type of event gives us a potential to see that over a widespread area which would put a lot of water into our streams and rivers, and hopefully eventually into some of our reservoirs".

Most of north Georgia is under a flash flood watch through Tuesday night.

Fay's rains were heavy in Florida late last week into the weekend, and brought several inches of heavy rain to south Georgia into and through the past weekend as well.

'Fay' leftovers could help north Georgia

North Georgia is expected to get a heavy dose of much-needed rain over the next few days in the wake of tropical storm Fay and its slow move across the southeastern U.S. Some forecasters say up to 10 inches of rain could fall in some areas of north Georgia through Wednesday. There is a flash flood watch that will go in effect later this afternoon for the region. Residents in south Georgia are dealing with the massive amounts of rainfall that began into the past weekend--some areas were said to have received up to 15 inches. There was one Georgia death tied to the storm--a Grady County boy died while playing near a drainage ditch as he was overcome by rushing waters.

Tropical storm could bring Georgia heavy rain

Drought-stricken north Georgia could see a good dose of rain later this week, courtesy of what’s happening now in the Atlantic. Tropical Storm Fay has already hit Cuba, and is setting its sights on the Florida Keys. The storm could get hurricane status later today. Much needed rain for Georgia could arrive later this week. Current projections have the storm moving into south Georgia by the early morning hours of Thursday. The parched area of north Georgia could experience strong rainfall later Thursday into Friday.

Water use down in north Georgia

There is praise for residents of north Georgia. The state’s top environmental official says the region used 20-percent rectorcless water in June, compared to June of last year. State Enviromental Protection Division director Carol Couch says good conservation choices and outdoor watering restrictions have had the positive effect on saving water. Officials estimate conservation measures has resulted in a savings of 180-million gallons of water a day.

Fourth drowning of '08 at Allatoona

Authorities report another drowning at Lake Allatoona in north Georgia. 18-year-old Miguel Ramos from Athens became the fourth person to drown in Allatoona this year. In May, two students from Marietta drowned at the lake, followed by a 17-year-old Bartow County boy who drowned late last month. Authorities say the latest victim was a good swimmer who tried to swim from one side of a cove to another. All four victims this year have drowned in coves within Red Top Mountain State Park.

Georgia dealing with drought better this year

Georgia's top environmental official says the state is on track to use less water this year.

Carol Couch said Friday that the state's ability to manage water during the drought "is much better this year than last."

The drought prompted officials in 2007 to ban virtually all outdoor watering in the northern part of the state along with a ten percent reduction. Now the state is taking a more case-by-case approach to restrictions, allowing 24 North Georgia communities to relax their watering restrictions. More than 200 utilities in the region - including all that rely on water from dwindling Lake Lanier - are still covered by the restrictions.

Conditions to only worsen

While it appears that people in Georgia are adapting, the Army Corps of Engineers is reporting that conditions will not be improving for much of the state.

The Corps says that while Winter and Spring rains helped to refill many lakes across the Southeast, some are still well under pool and are expected to drop even more. Attention is being drawn to West Point and Lanier Lakes which have been largely effected and are expected to continue to drop.

---------------------------
www.georgiadrought.org

North Georgia feels effects of Midwest U.S. quake

Parts of north Georgia felt effects of an earthquake this morning that was centered in Illinois. The 5.4 magnitude quake hit just before 4:37, six miles from West Salem, Illinois. It was felt up to 450 miles away. Reports hours later came in from Georgians who felt the quake. Reports were taken from people in extreme north Georgia in Ringgold and Dawsonville. Some areas of metro Atlanta also reported feeling the quake.