Did you know that Georgia is currently facing its worst drought in nearly 10 years and wondering what impact that might have on the Gainesville area and the rest of north Georgia?
“The latest Drought Monitor (USDM) shows 80% of Georgia in at least Severe Drought conditions,” the weather service noted Friday following the USDM’s Thursday report. EARLIER STORY. POSTED THURSDAY: All but few, tiny areas in Hall Co. now listed as ‘extremely dry
Four takeaways from the NWS observations:
*The Big Number: 80% of Georgia is now in a serious drought.
*The Worst Part: About 7.7% of the state is in Exceptional Drought (D4). That’s the highest level of drought there is. We haven’t seen this level of D4 since February 2017 (8.1%).
*How dry has it been before?
Georgia has had big droughts in the past 20 years. Here are some key dates when Georgia hit that “top level” of dryness (D4): December 2007: 64% (the record)
*June 2012: 35% • November 2016: 36% • Right Now: 7.7%
It was during the drought of 2007 that Lake Lanier hit its all-time low: 1050.9. That happened on Dec. 26. The lake was all that suffered that year.
There were water shortages all over the state. That led many public water systems to implement odd-even outdoor watering days, wells dried up. Well diggers benefitted as many people looked for any way possible to get water for their homes, businesses, and farms.
And it was unseasonably warm that year, too, with many record highs set or tied.