Wet week ahead, could aid drought conditions in Middle Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — July is currently the driest month so far this year for the Nashville area.

While our region has seen some rainy days with high totals, the consistent rain has led to increasing drought conditions. However, this upcoming week could bring helpful rainfall.

Latest Drought Tracker

The Drought Monitor is released weekly across the United States, taken from physical rainfall totals and input from local climate experts. For Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky, our drought conditions have amplified in the last few weeks as the intense heat has dried out the soil moisture and soaking rains have been limited.

The latest Drought Tracker map issued on Thursday, July 18, shows an extreme drought (level 4 of 5) across southern counties, with a level 1 of 5 dry drought for locations near I-40 in the Metro area.

The changing pattern

The good news, we are finally catching a break from the oppressive heat! A pattern change is bringing rain chances back to our region. The heat high that brought our heat wave has retreated back to the southwest United States and over the southwest Atlantic Ocean.

This opens the door for a series of upper disturbances to move into the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. Combined with Gulf moisture, this will increase the potential for heavy rainfall at times.

Weekend outlook

This weekend, we will expect daytime heating to drive the thunderstorms that occur. Some will linger into the mid-evening hours, but will be scattered in nature. With a lower coverage of rain, some temperatures will near 90 degrees.

Upcoming week: widespread rain

Starting Tuesday, the rain coverage will be on the higher side. Tuesday through Thursday is where the bulk of the rain totals will come from.

Rain amounts should reach 1-2 inches in our area, but there will be some areas where totals could reach over 3 inches.

While hard to pinpoint specific areas where heavy rain will occur, and the potential of any strong storms, you’ll need to remain weather aware as advisories may be necessary. The takeaways: below average temperatures and above average rainfall are expected.

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