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Dry weather and cool weather good news for Georgia's apple-picking season

By FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Updated  October 3, 2023 7:47pm EDT
Weather
FOX 5 Atlanta

How's the weather looking for apple picking?

The fall festival season is in full bloom, and it may be a good idea to get the family out in the orchards to pick some apples. FOX 5 Storm Team's Jonathan Stacey says you can head out to Ellijay for some fun.

ELLIJAY, Ga. - This past spring and summer saw a lot of rain, but September and October are the driest months in Georgia.

That’s been good news for the apple industry in the state. Showers earlier in the year help to grow the fruit, but a late-season rain shower does not help, especially when picking season begins in October.

Ellijay is Georgia’s apple capital and they are gearing up for the first big weekend of apple picking.

APPLE PICKING, PUMPKIN PATCHES, CORN MAZES AND FALL FESTIVALS IN NORTH GEORGIA | FALL 2023

Right now, the apples are more golden or yellow, but they will turn red once the temperatures dip down into the 40s.

That is this weekend.

Hillcrest Orchards in Ellijay is preparing for the beginning of apple-picking season. They are offering pig races, indoor shooting range, and even cow milking in addition to fruit picking.

Drier than normal September

A drier than normal September has been impacting the area causing some portions of Georgia to feel drought-like conditions.

Rainfall deficit in Georgia

At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the official rain gage for Atlanta, there’s currently a deficit of rain of more than 5 inches.

Up in northwest Georgia, they are about 3 inches behind.

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The next drought report comes out Thursday and the state doesn’t appear to be getting any significant rainfall before then, so that index is expected to increase.

Drought index on the rise in Georgia

The driest months are here in Georgia, but the drought levels are unusually high this year.

Georgia’s lakes falling

The rain has also impacted the lake levels in Georgia.

About three weeks ago, the Army Corp of Engineers announced it had started the annual water drawdown.

That, along with the lack of rain, has some of those waterways down by as much as five feet.

Tuesday, Lake Lanier stood down 5.56 feet, Allatoona at 4.76 feet below full pool, West Point dipped 5.61 feet, and Hartwell was 4.77 feet down. Only Lake Oconee had a surplus of water with 0.82 feet more than full pool.