View Larger After 18 inches of rain since March 1, restrictions on water use remain unchanged for Hall County and metro Atlanta.
Lake Lanier’s level this week reached more than 1,064 feet above sea level, within 7 feet of full — a good level for 2017, but a record low for the past five years.
“Releases from Lake Lanier will continue to be just for water-quality and water-supply requirements at this time,” Hunter said in an announcement.
Weinstein said current conditions mean the metro Atlanta area is likely to see new restrictions this summer.
“The vines are healthy and happy and growing like crazy” after the rains of the past month, said Jeff Butter, assistant vineyard manager at Cavender Creek Vineyards.
If it stopped raining in the next couple of weeks and didn’t rain until harvest, we would probably be OK.” Vineyard operators say 2016 was one of their best years ever because of its hot, dry summer.
Even normal amounts of rain in August or early September, when the grapes are close to harvesting, can dilute the all-important sugar in the berries that makes good wine.
“Just like anything else, you put water in something and it waters it down,” Parker said.
“Last year was an awesome year.
I think it started out a little rainy in the spring last year too, but it dried up and it was really, really good for the grapes last year,” Parker said.

Nearly one-quarter of North Dakota in moderate drought conditions.
FARGO — Nearly 25 percent of North Dakota is now in a moderate drought, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor.
"As the drought conditions are worsening in some parts, they are developing or showing early signs of drought in other parts of the state," said Akyuz, who also is a professor of climatological practice at North Dakota State University.
"That is not indicating favorable precipitation that might rescue us," Akyuz said, which could mean a deepening of drought conditions in some areas.
All of the state has had less-than-average precipitation in the last three months, with parts of central and south-central North Dakota getting 25 to 50 percent of normal precipitation — or less — during this period, the state climate office reports.
The result has been that this spring, so far, has been the 15th driest in Fargo, seventh driest in Bismarck, 10th driest in Minot and 17th driest in Jamestown.
"If average temperatures were not as cool as they have been, and if we did not follow a significantly wet six-month period," drought conditions could have been "much harsher," Akyuz said.
Helmut Schmidt Helmut Schmidt was born in Germany, but grew up in the Twin Cities area, graduating from Park High School of Cottage Grove.
He joined The Forum in October 1989, working as a copy editor until 2000.
He is currently The Forum’s K-12 education reporter.

The drought is over for almost all of Colorado.
"Water providers have no immediate concerns and expect reservoirs to fill."
That is a dramatic change from three months ago when eastern Colorado was in the grip of one of the worst droughts in recent memory.
It looked to be a long, hot summer.
While Logan and Phillips counties smoldered, the Denver Post was reporting that drought conditions were worsening over the eastern third of the state.
By late March the drought had spread to the entire I-25 corridor, and fire departments there were dispatching SCAT trucks with almost every call, just in case.
For eastern Colorado basins, Fenimore said, snowpack remains abnormally high for this time of year, and abnormal amounts of moisture in May have helped to end drought conditions here.
Climatologists caution, however, that the reprieve is temporary.
Beyond the fact that average temperatures will go up, however, there’s little agreement in exactly how much impact there will be.
"In all parts of Colorado, no consistent long-term trends in annual precipitation have been detected," the report said.

Drought conditions create difficulties for N.D. farmers, ranchers.
BISMARCK, N.D. – It’s no secret it’s been abnormally warm, dry and windy the past week in North Dakota.
This wheat field is in the early three-to-five leaf growth stage.
If the crop doesn’t get moisture soon, Bahm says yields will be reduced.
"You’re going to lose a lot of bushels," said Bahm.
Market traders are also noticing how dry farm fields have become in North Dakota.
"The market is always going to trade what is the current news, and right now the fact that there is more dry conditions in North Dakota than there was a week ago, certainly that has their attention," said Neil Fisher with North Dakota Wheat Commission.
Long range forecasts aren’t calling for significant rain for the next two weeks but that’s not dampening Bahm’s spirits.
"I’m trying to be optimistic," said Bahm.
Bahm recently turned his cows out and he says those pastures will also need rain soon to keep his herd fed this summer.

From the California Natural Resources Agency: With the latest science showing that nearly half of California’s native salmon and trout species face extinction in the next 50 years, state agencies have committed to a suite of actions to improve survival rates, including restoring habitat, improving stream flow, removing stream barriers and reintroducing species to ideal habitat.
These actions and more are described in a Sacramento Valley Salmon Resiliency Strategy released today and available here.
These fish travel hundreds of miles of Central Valley streams and spend several years in the Pacific Ocean, so the strategy targets the freshwater streams where salmon and steelhead eggs hatch, the streams and floodplains where young fish rear, the Delta channels the fish must travel to reach the ocean, and the many barriers that hinder adult fish returning to spawn in natal streams.
Reintroduce winter-run Chinook salmon to Battle Creek and the McCloud River.
The State’s aim is to have water districts that divert from these streams reach agreements that improve flow, stream temperature, and habitat conditions for salmon and steelhead.
The Sacramento Valley Salmon Resiliency Strategy mirrors the Delta Smelt Resiliency Strategy developed by the State in 2016 to rapidly improve conditions for an endangered fish species found only in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The Salmon Resiliency Strategy relies heavily on the 2014 final recovery plan drafted by the National Marine Fisheries Service, which is responsible for recovery of sea-going fish under the U.S.
Other state and federal plans also support the strategy, such as the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s 2016 Battle Creek Winter-Run Chinook Salmon Reintroduction Plan.
A two-year update on California EcoRestore, the state’s effort to restore Delta wetlands habitat, is available here.
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Drought already searing northeast Montana.
Drought conditions in northeast Montana have developed rapidly since the end of April.
Despite two consecutive years of record precipitation in 2015 and 2016, the winter months of 2017 did not bring much moisture; and while precipitation totals for April were average, May has seen only 25 percent of normal precipitation, along with above-normal temperatures.
Rainfall is critical at this time of year for dryland producers across the region.
“This one took us by surprise,” said Ada Montague, a water planner with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.
“While Wibaux and Fallon counties were on our radar, we did not anticipate such dry conditions would develop so quickly across such a large area.” While subsoil moisture is holding steady at normal, Montague said topsoil conditions to about 8 inches below the surface are below average.
Montague said the Governor’s Drought and Water Supply Advisory Committee members have received reports that producers are selling off cattle due to concern about available forage in Dawson, Richland, McCone, Roosevelt, Prairie, Wibaux and Fallon counties.
Reports of dry conditions are also coming in from Valley and Sheridan counties.
“We have made reports to the U.S. Drought Monitor of the impacts to ag producers in northeast Montana,” Montague said.
“We continue to monitor conditions, and we’re also working with the Montana Department of Agriculture and the Montana Department of Emergency Services to make sure we are doing all we can to address producer concerns.” Montague said it’s important that producers contact their local Farm Service Agency office to report any losses.

Signs of drought crop up across Northeast Montana.
Drought conditions in Northeast Montana have developed rapidly since the end of April.
Despite two consecutive years of record precipitation in 2015 and 2016, the winter months of 2017 did not bring much moisture; and while precipitation totals for April were average, May has seen only 25 percent of normal precipitation, along with above-normal temperatures.
Rainfall is critical at this time of year for dryland producers across the region.
“This one took us by surprise,” said Ada Montague, staff person for the Governor’s Drought and Water Supply Advisory Committee (DWSAC) and a water planner with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.
“While Wibaux and Fallon counties were on our radar, we did not anticipate such dry conditions would develop so quickly across such a large area.” While subsoil moisture is holding steady at normal, Montague said topsoil conditions to about eight inches below the surface are below average.
Wind and above-normal temperatures have played a major role in depleting surface moisture, she noted.
Reports of dry conditions are also coming in from Valley and Sheridan counties.
“We have made reports to the US Drought Monitor of the impacts to ag producers in Northeast Montana,” said Montague.
The next Governor’s Drought and Water Supply Advisory Committee meeting will be held on June 20, 2017, from 9-11 am at DNRC Headquarters in Helena.

Farmers Want Probe Into South Africa Drought-Relief Spend.
Agri SA wants Public Protector, Auditor General to investigate Funds wasted on service providers, pricey feed, farmers say South African farmers called for an investigation into how 2.5 billion rand ($192 million) of government funds earmarked for drought relief last year was spent, after many commercial farms received no state help.
Only 1 billion rand was allocated to government departments, of which about 85 percent was spent during a period in which six of the country’s nine provinces were declared disaster areas, according to research from Agri SA.
Of the 1 billion rand, just 0.24 percent went to commercial farmers and much of the money was wasted on inexperienced distribution companies and overpriced feed and boreholes, the farmers’ group said.
“This is a warning shot, a flag going up to say we need to investigate these things,” Omri Van Zyl, executive director of Agri SA, told reporters Thursday in Centurion, south of Pretoria.
“For all South Africans, we need a proper delivery system to help us in such a crisis.” South Africa experienced the worst drought in more than a century in 2015 and the dry weather continued the following year, pushing up food prices and hurting small-scale and commercial farmers.
The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will cooperate with any inquiry and will work with Agri SA to find out where the money was spent, acting spokesman Steve Galane told reporters.
The DAFF allocated 212 million rand for drought-relief measures but only spent 146 million rand, 90 percent of which went to subsistence farmers, Agri SA said.
Heavy rain across most provinces this year and the end of 2016 has given farmers relief from the drought and the country’s Crop Estimates Committee is forecasting a record corn crop.
However, the drought still persists in the Northern and Western Cape provinces.

Drought risk lower, but still there.
However, other areas are still at risk and ranchers need to keep a close eye on rangeland conditions and update their drought plans, said Sean Kelly, SDSU Extension Range Management Field Specialist.
Kelly references the South Dakota Natural Resources Conservation Service current grass production estimates and projected peak grass production estimates for May 1, 2017 which indicate improved conditions compared to April 2017.
The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center also predicts a wetter period for the next three months.
However, Laura Edwards, SDSU Extension State Climatologist cautions producers.
“The North Central Region is still half or less of average rainfall in the last two months,” Edwards said.
April, May and June are critical months for precipitation and grassland production in the Northern Plains.
“By July 1, research shows that 75 percent to 90 percent of vegetation growth has been completed,” Kelly said.
“Ranches in South Dakota that received half or less of average rainfall by the third week in May, should be implementing management actions within their drought plan and adjusting stocking rates.” If no drought plan is in place for the ranch, please see review the iGrow article, “Time to Revisit Drought Plans for the Ranch” information regarding the South Dakota Drought Tool and the importance of trigger dates within a drought plan.
The article can be found at this link: http://igrow.org/livestock/beef/time-to-revisit-drought-plans-for-the-ranch/.

Homes having structural issues after drought.
While we are no longer in the severe drought that we were in a few months ago, the drought could still cause serious problems for you.
Contractors are staying busy trying to fix the problems at homes in our area.
The drought caused foundations to shift.
David Carysle is a structural engineer and he says, "During the height of the drought, we had houses that moved from one week to the next.
If you don’t catch these issues early, it could cost you thousands of dollars.
"This drought caused buildings that have been stable for over fifty years to move," Carysle states.
"Sometimes the soil under the center of the house dries more than the soil around the outside of the house.
We have done a lot of jobs that are tenfold on that price where it is very severe.
Copyright 2017 WBRC.