There’s still quite a bit of ice on some of the roads in my neighborhood. It’s about 30 now, and it’s supposed to get up to 46 today. Tonight’s low is forecast to be 42, so there shouldn’t be a refreeze. That should solve the remaining problems, except perhaps the toughest cases. Like my driveway.
Lamar Paris, the Union County sole commissioner, has a question and answer column in the North Georgia News that’s always worth reading, if only to reassure oneself that it’s 2017 somewhere in the Georgia mountains. His column for January 4th mentions that there were two fires in Union last week. Each was caused by a single car accident – in one case it was the catalytic converter – and each burned over 200 acres. He points out that the ground is still very dry under the top layer of soil, and the dry leaves make the fire danger greater. Then he mentions the stats from the Georgia Mountain Research and Education Center on 129 for the period July 1 – December 29. This past year, they recorded 13.24 inches of rain, compared to 40.89 in 2015, 23.78 in 2014, and 33.16 in 2013. This data is from www.weather.uga.edu. Our stats, from the weather station at Mercier’s Orchards, are similar. We had 19.26 last year vs. 39.56 in 2015. I also noted that it’s already four degrees warmer at Mercier’s this morning than it is here, about two miles southeast of Mineral Bluff.