With all that is going on in the news, seems a bit narcissistic to talk about the local weather and the fact we finally got some rain, but it matters a lot to us and, given the impacts on agriculture noted yesterday, it matters a lot to the rest of America and the world.
The cold front that swept through yesterday generated a swath of rain across Georgia South Carolina, although it was more narrow than hoped. Here is the regional view showing three day (72 hour) radar estimated rainfall accumulations …
The areas of the wildfires west of Brunswick we have been watching got at least an inch. The Georgia Forestry Commission update yesterday said “A bit of good news – We’re receiving some helpful rain on the fires today. It won’t put them out, but it will slow fire activity and give crews a chance to make progress—shifting from defense to offense, and hopefully allowing for some much-needed rest.” The Pineland Road fire (Clinch/Echols County) is at 32,575 acres and 45% contained, the US 82 fire is as 22,532 acres and 44% containment.
The rain swath passed right over the heart of the Frogmore Metroplex, with an area of 5 inches of rain deposited just north of Savannah:
To give you an idea of the capricious nature of rain, most of the area saw two to three inches, although parts of midtown Savannah itself were around 1.5″. Here is a map zoomed in on Savannah itself …
The Airport showed 1.64″, just a few miles to the north looks to have received over 4″. The Enki gauge near Daffin Park recorded a storm total rain of 1.58″. It took a few hours to penetrate the soil, but the moisture levels at 6″ below the surface soared as the ground saturated. I doubt they will stay that way for long given how dry the overall soil column was, but the plants certainly appreciate it.
Next shot at rain locally looks to be Thursday. The official gauge at airport shows we are still 7.87″ behind for the year, less than have the average amount (normal by now is 13.15″, we have only received 5.28″). We need multiple 1″ or more events, spaced out some to allow the soils to recover, in order to break the drought. Longer range forecast shows normal rain in May, let’s hope that materializes.
If you appreciate the blog, the best way to get it is to subscribe to the emails. You can subscribe and also donate to keep it going at this link. Many thanks to those who have contributed to the blog!
You can also follow us on X/Twitter (@EnkiResearch), Telegram, BlueSky, or even Facebook if that is your preferred social media mayhem. But be aware that social media algorithms don’t show you posts in chronological order, “upgrade” sensationalist material, and “downgrade” posts that have outside links in order to keep you on their platform.