July Rainfall Recap & Forecast Ahead

Beginning with a bit of a recap...Looking at July rainfall totals compared to monthly norms (below). If you recall from some of the earlier Tennessee drought maps, most of the state faced drought to some degree. By late July, a stalled boundary brought heavy rainfall to the area, especially across Eastern Kentucky. This largely helped the recovery of those dry spots, with some areas picking up well over 4" above monthly norms. However, looking west, who have continued to deal with dry conditions, less than normal rainfall amounts occurred. This has continued to aid in plaguing the area with moderate drought, though improvements have been seen through August so far.

Inching a bit closer to the present, take a look at the last 7-day soil moisture amounts. On average, most areas have been near to slightly below (meaning loss of soil moisture). This is most evident across the Tennessee Valley and far northwest TN. Areas that saw pop up showers and storms, as well as repeated activity with the cold front, are doing better with increased soil moistures. Overall, the take away is that sunnier skies have led to a loss of soil moisture. This isn't a bad thing, we just can't continue this trend through the end of the month and into September if we want to stay out of any drought potential in the coming weeks.

As far as the forecast up ahead, very summertime conditions can be expected. Highs will top out in the upper 80s today, with most staying partly cloudy. An isolated stray shower can't be ruled out along the TN/GA border and in the higher elevations, otherwise dry conditions prevail. With increasing moisture and temperatures tomorrow, pop up showers and storms will be possible in the afternoon, which will continue to be possible each day after (through at least the weekend). Highs will warm each day as well, finding the low 90s by Sunday.

Other than a few afternoon showers and storms each day, temperatures will be warming back up in the 90s. This is a change from the mid 80s we have been blessed with most of the month. Keep cool, stay hydrated, and have the sunscreen close by!

                                                       Pre-recorded for 5pm weather broadcast