Drought impacts on Tennessee (Memphis, Knoxville: live in, vs., centers)

[Meg Lesher]

Reports are that the drought is worsening in Tennessee. Is this accurate? What parts of the State are most and least affected by this? And what are the reports for improvement? I am most interested in the Cumberland Plateau, the Tri-Cities/Northeast and East Tennessee/Knoxville regions, but appreciate all input on how this is affecting the State, and what people are saying about it and its effects on them.

[alleycat]

The worse area centers around Chattanooga (it's listed as "extreme"). It's less so in upper Middle Tenneseee and East Tennessee, but it's still much drier than normal in those areas too.

[mbmouse]

Well, we are now getting thunderstorms and some rain here in the Tri-Cites this past week, still rather dry though. I have had to water my plants 4 out of 6 days, grass is a bit on the brown side, but more rain is coming. I have heard news reports that warn boaters on the lakes to be careful close to shore as the water levels are lower than normal and your boat could bottom out. No serious warnings that I have heard yet. Yes, this is unusual, the weather this year is so far has been unusual, early heat in spring, then late frost, then hotter than usual late spring.

[Rcm58]

The lakes are down lower than usual for this time of year and I only have to mow every other weekend

[alleycat]

They have put water restrictions in some area; and the Corps of Engineers are planning on drawing from the lakes if necessary. This is the earliest that they've ever had to do that.

So far the economical impact hasn't been too bad except to the farmers in the region. They've taken a double hit this year; first a late freeze, now a lack of rain. If this continues, there will be a variety of businesses and activities affected.

And the worst thing of all . . . the Jack Daniels Distillery is running low on spring water! Yikes!

[kamoshika]

Here in the Tri-Cities area, we've had less than half (under 10") of our normal precipitation for the year. The period March-May was the driest in TN, GA, MS & AL since at least 1895, according to NOAA. They currently classify NE TN as being in a "severe drought."


The forests around here seem to be doing OK, but I do a lot of hiking in the mountains and most streams have been severly affected. Some of the smaller ones have dried up entirely. My parents' veggie garden in Hawkins Co. (near Kingsport) is in rough shape, doubtful it'll recover unless we get a drenching rain very soon. Many livestock farmers in the area are having to sell their animals because they don't have enough hay or grain to feed them.

[Meg Lesher]

"Here in the Tri-Cities area, we've had less than half (under 10") of our normal precipitation for the year. The period March-May was the driest in TN, GA, MS & AL since at least 1895, according to NOAA. They currently classify NE TN as being in a "severe drought."


The forests around here seem to be doing OK, but I do a lot of hiking in the mountains and most streams have been severly affected. Some of the smaller ones have dried up entirely. My parents' veggie garden in Hawkins Co. (near Kingsport) is in rough shape, doubtful it'll recover unless we get a drenching rain very soon. Many livestock farmers in the area are having to sell their animals because they don't have enough hay or grain to feed them."

That sounds really serious. How long has the drought been affecting the Tri-Cities area? And are there any forecasts signifying a change?

[hiknapster]

We MIGHT get a bit of rain this afternoon, but it won't be enough.

I think we had something like 1 1/2 inches in May and we are suppose to get 5 inches. No. There doesn't seem to be any relief coming. The rain seems to be concentrated in parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas. Believe me, they don't want anymore.

Here's the drought map.

US Drought Monitor

[kamoshika]

That sounds really serious. How long has the drought been affecting the Tri-Cities area? And are there any forecasts signifying a change?

Yes, it's pretty serious. We've been well below normal for the past 7 months or so, and the forecasts I've seen suggest that we'll see more of the same at least through this summer. The current drought conditions are very unusual, however, as we usually get at least 2-4" of precipitation every month.

Here's what we've gotten (inches of precipation) since December, compared to the norm...data is from Tri-Cities Airport:

Dec '06: 2.16 (3.39)
Jan '07: 1.6 (3.52)
Feb '07: 1.02 (3.4)
Mar '07: 2.27 (3.91)
Apr '07: 2.64 (3.23)
May '07: 0.76 (4.32; record low in what's normally our rainiest mo.)
Jun '07 (through yesterday): 0.54 (1.69)

That's just 11" of precip. in the past 6 1/2 months, vs. our normal 23.5". Conditions in Knoxville are similar, Chattanooga a bit worse.

[umograd83]

The Memphis area has a 39.9 inch rain deficit for the past two and a half years. The city I live in (Germantown) has asked its residents to conserve water, i.e. curb watering your lawn.