Winter is getting off to a windy start.
Winter officially begins later today.
A wind advisory remains in effect for Stephens County through Saturday.
Last night, downtown Toccoa received a wind gust of 33 miles per hour, with other wind gusts of over 20 miles an hour.
Winds could gust as high as 45 miles per hour later today.
The winds blew in after rain moved through the area Thursday.
Yesterday, downtown Toccoa received 1.53 inches of rain. This week, downtown Toccoa received just over 2.5 inches of rain.
The rain could provide some relief to drought conditions that are not currently improving in northeast Georgia.
The most recent drought monitor, which was released Thursday, shows that the northern tip of Stephens County and a large part of Habersham County both remain in severe drought. Most of Stephens County, along with Franklin, Hart, Banks, and southern Habersham County, are in moderate drought.
97 percent of Georgia is either in drought or abnormally dry. The worst areas of drought remain in central Georgia, along with an area in the western part of the state. Only very small portions of far northwest and southeast Georgia face no drought conditions at the current time.