The drought strengthened its hold on Georgia over the past week as drought-free parts of the state continued to disappear.
The weekly report from the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) Thursday shows that the drought now covers more than 60 percent of the state, including Hall and surrounding counties. Drought-free sections are mostly confined to west, west central, south and coastal parts of Georgia.
For the first time in several months, parts of the state are now dealing with severe drought conditions. Those counties include Augusta-Richmond and surrounding counties.
The level of Lake Lanier, meanwhile, is up a tenth-of-a-foot from a week ago to 1071.4.
