Drought makes dramatic return on back of rain-free October

The drought returned to Georgia in dramatic fashion this past week on the back of a rain-free October in Gainesville and several other places.

The U S. Drought Monitor’s (USDM) weekly report shows 95 percent of Georgia is now facing drought conditions. Just a week ago, that was true of only five percent of the state.

As of Thursday, the only drought-free counties were in southeast Georgia along the Florida border.

Though some parts of Hall County received a very light sprinkle over the weekend, the National Weather Service (NWS) reported no rain at its recording station at the Gainesville airport and none so far this week, meaning that October was rain-free.

Meanwhile, the level of Lake Lanier sits at 1068.3, half-a-foot lower than it was a week ago.