Lake Lanier had a merry Christmas indeed!
According to the Army Corps of Engineers, Lake Lanier reached its highest official level ever recorded in the month of December at 6 AM on Christmas Day 2013 when it hit 1073.05 feet above sea level. The lake is considered to be full when the level hits 1070 during the winter.
That’s a far cry from the lake’s lowest level, set on December 28, 1977 at 1050.79 — almost 23 feet lower than Christmas Day 2013.
Lanier also had plenty of water over the summer of 2013, when the lake is consider at “full pool” at 1071 feet. We peaked this year at 1073.68 on May 8, 2013. That was more than a yard lower than the all-time high of 1077.17 that was set on April 14, 1964.
Gainesville had roughly 8.5 inches of rain this month. That brought the lake up considerably. A few of the more than 100 boat ramps on the lake are closed because of the lake’s level.
Thankfully, Lake Lanier is not nearing flood stage — up to 1085 feet — as reported by WNCT-TV in Greenville, NC. We can also rejoice that Lake Lanier will not be drained to “just over 1000 feet” by the Army Corps of Engineer, as reported by WNCT.
We might disagree as to whether Atlanta is worth saving, but it’s safe for now.
