What a blessing for both Georgia & South Carolina this weekend.  RAIN and a lot of it.  Augusta's Bush Field (Augusta Regional) had a record rainfall for the 30th of December of 2.20".  Weekend rainfalls over the two state area ranged from 2 to 5 inches.  South Georgia received up to 4 inches in many locations, in fact most of south Georgia received between 2 and 4 inches this weekend. Extreme north Georgia was not  as lucky with generally 1 to 2 inches.  Since most of Georgia's lakes are fed from tributaries in the north, this is the area that needed to get 4 -8 inches to make a major rise in area lakes. Radar estimates show a small area of southern Oglethorpe county received over 5".  For identification, Lexington is the county seat. Back to our local weather.  With the 2.20" at the airport today (Sunday), this brings our total 2007 rainfall to 33.90" with only a few sprinkles left for the rest of the year.  Here are the driest years on record for Augusta: 1931 = 28.18, 1904 = 29.54", 1954 = 31.53, 1956 = 32.85, 1978 = 32.96.  Our normal rainfall for the year is between 42 and 44 inches, this is a 30 year average.  The weekend rain kept us out of the top 5 driest years on record.  Computer models for the rest of the winter are not too optimistic for a lot of rain for the area with a forecast of below normal for the southeast US.  Have a great NEW YEAR from all of us at Stormteam 12.

Bob Smith

Chief Meteorologist

Many have been calling and e-mailing about what they are seeing in the night sky.  Well, if you were thinking maybe a comet, you're right.  The Holmes Comet has been the big talk around town lately.  So if you are wondering where to find it, your wait is over.  Comet Holmes is currently in the constellation Perseus. Perseus can be found after sunset in the northeastern sky. Perseus is easily found by the constellation above it, Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia is easy to find because it is shaped like a "W". The W is hanging on its side in the sky, and if you look left of the W, toward the horizon, you will find a string of stars dangling downward toward the ground. This string of stars is Perseus.  The brightest star in Perseus is magnitude 1.79 Mirfak. Comet Holmes is located a little to the lower left of Mirfak. Use one of these finder maps to locate Comet Holmes. Comet Holmes will be moving in a loop in this same region of Perseus over the next few months.  You can find more information about the Holmes comet by visiting the website  http://stargazing.suite101.com/article.cfm/comet_suddenly_brightens.  Enjoy!

Meteorologist Tim Strong

Currently we are almost 15 inches below normal on the 2007 rainfall tally for Augusta's Bush Field (Augusta Regional).  The question rings loud and clear, "When is it going to rain?".  With little or no tropical activity in the Southeast this year, the spotty thunderstorm activity of this summer was not enough to replenish lost water from consumption and power generation on area rivers and lakes.  Thurmond Lake is About 317 feet. Normal pool level for the winter is about 328 feet.  The all time low level is 313 and change.

What is the forecast?  More of the same!  The pattern for this winter is being driven by the global effects of Pacific Ocean currents (El Nino / La Nina).  Since we are now in a moderate "La Nina", we are looking for the usual dry pattern over the Southeast US.  It was this La Nina that suppressed tropical activity in the Atlantic this year, along with African dust storms.  Some parts of the Southeast may get more than normal rainfall this winter, but by far the vast majority will likely be below normal.  A big collective prayer may help.

Bob Smith                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Well, it looks like we are in for another week with little or no chance of rain.  Conditions are going to continue to remain sunny with highs in the mid 70s for the beginning of this week.  By Wednesday, highs may hit close to 80 degrees.  As the cold front passes through there will be a 20% chance of showers for Wednesday night and that appears to be our BEST chance of rain for the week.  The temps will be cooling back off with highs in the 60s and lows in the lower 40s by the end of the week.  I hope you all have a great week and let's keep our fingers crossed that we will get some much needed showers into the CSRA soon.

Meteorologist Michael White

As many of you I’m sure are aware, several meteorologists have expressed concern over global climate change and the fact that “the end of the world is soon upon us”.  I’m not going to get on a soap box about global warming, but one thing I would like to share with you were the misinterpretations over the past two years of many who stated that we would be seeing a record number of tropical storms and hurricanes during the 2006 and thus far the 2007 season.  Dr. William Gray of Colorado State University wrote an article back in April and May of this year that stated that we would be seeing 17 names storms, 9 Hurricanes, (5 of these 9 will be intense).  In the article it was also stated that there would be a 74% chance of a major (cat 3, 4, or 5) hurricane hitting the U.S mainland.  50% that one would hit the U.S east coast, including the Florida peninsula.  A 49% chance that one would hit from the Florida Panhandle westward to Brownsville, TX .  Now that we are already in late October only 4 hurricanes have shown themselves and none have hit the U.S mainland as a cat 3 or above.  14 names storms have appeared so far, but these tropical storms have barely been above subtropical status.  An 2006 we only saw 10 named storms TOTAL!  That’s hardly ‘record-breaking’.  I’m not trying to discount Dr. Gray’s skills as a meteorologist, but the data they use is the same as the data we use at News 12 and that all other meteorologists use.  No one can predict how many hurricanes we will see in any given year, the computer models give us an estimate but that’s exactly what it is, an estimate.  Too many factors take place in our weather every day to make predictions like that.  That’s like forecasting snow for the winter while it’s still July.  You can make an educated guess, but the odds of being right are extremely low.

High pressure over the Southeast US is creating one of the hottest periods on record.  You have to go back to 1993 to find more 100 + days than this month. Back in 1993 we saw 17 days in the month of July with 100 + days.  We are at 14 as of today 8/21/07 and will see another 100+ day Wednesday.  This same high pressure that brought us this current heatwave is also responsible for keeping Dean away from the southeast.  Speaking of Dean, the remnants will likely make it into the Pacific and could bring flooding rain the the Southwest US next week.

Chief Meteorologist Bob Smith