Closing the summer with sort of a bang!

After months of hit-and-miss precipitation, the sub basins along the Savannah River delivered in style during the month of August.  Lake Hartwell received 5.3 inches.  Thurmond was the best of them all, picking up 6.5 inches—nearly double its average.  With the exception of this past April, when Lake Hartwell received 6.27 inches, this month’s take was the most rainfall the sub-basins have received for any month since December 2013.  However, as reported by the Army Corps of Engineers, like a failing student who aces his final exam only to come up short for the overall grade, the impressive numbers in August were not enough to prevent the reservoirs from slipping in Drought Level 1.  Level 1 is the first stage that dictates changes in release rates.  A late summer dip in precipitation is relatively common.  The Climate Prediction Center last month issued an advisory that states there’s a 90% chance for strong El Nino conditions this winter.  If this occurs, the relatively warm waters in the Pacific will bring greater precipitation to the southeastern U-S—including the sub basins along the Savannah.