Drought Expands, Temperatures Warm, Little To Any Rainfall

As expected, drought conditions have stayed relatively the same (minus the abnormally dry conditions now in place). There was some improvement in the west, otherwise abnormally dry to severe drought cover almost the entire state. This does not pan out well in terms of wildfire potential, as mostly dry conditions look to find us through the next 7 days. I anticipate next weeks map to worsen, with a big rain really needed across the state.

In terms of any rainfall chances, we do have a weakening cold front sliding east this weekend. Unfortunately, rainfall will be minimal, where up to a tenth is possible across mainly the plateau. Some locations in the east will be lucky to see any rain at all. This is not good for the drought we see above. Timing for this will come mainly Saturday evening and into early Sunday morning. High pressure then fills back in Sunday and early next week, drying things off and keeping temperatures warm. 

In fact, we could see a new high temperature records on Monday, as the current Oak Ridge record of 78 is in place. Our forecast calls for a 80 degree high, with potential for a couple of degrees higher in some locations. Overall, the take away is the on going well above average temperatures, minimal rainfall mid weekend, and the drought that continues to expand and worsen across the state. We will keep an eye on all of this moving forward, but wildfires could become more common in the weeks to come.

                                                      Pre-recorded for 5pm weather broadcast