Francine could cause Tennessee more harm than good

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tropical Storm Francine is forecasted to impact Middle Tennessee . Heavy rain, gusty winds, and severe weather are all possible when it gets here.

The chance for heavy rain might sound like a good thing, but according to Tennessee State Climatologist Andrew Joyner, it could cause more harm than good.

“It should be good. However, when you have a long period of drought followed by a heavy rain event, unfortunately, a lot of that rain runs off or could cause damage too if it’s heavy enough you’ve got weak root systems on some of your plants and some of your crops,” said Joyner.

Along with the flooding concerns, he said it could negatively impact the harvest of cotton, impacting the amount and quality.

It’s not all bad, according to Joyner, the heavy rain will help with fire danger and could allow hay farmers to get another harvest. Another hay harvest will help keep feed prices down for livestock farmers as we head into the winter months.

Joyner said the drought monitor will be updated on Thursday and he expects the areas under drought to expand, but after the rainfall from Francine, it should improve some.

According to Joyner, for the drought to completely go away we will need several more heavy rain events over the coming weeks and months.

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