Extreme Drought Grows in East Tennessee, Says U.S. Drought Monitor This Week

The percentage of Tennessee facing extreme drought is on the increase, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) report. 

D3 extreme drought, the highest drought designation in the state at this time, increased from 4% as of Jan. 21 to 7% as of Jan. 28. Thursday’s USDM report also indicated an increase from 9% to 21% in D1 moderate drought in Tennessee.

Overall, the part of the state facing any drought stress increased 10 percentage points. Last week, 48% of the state did not have any drought stress. Now, only 37% of Tennessee is free of drought stress.

Most of the state’s extreme drought is localized to a region impacting 11 counties on the western edge of East Tennessee. A couple hard hit counties are Cumberland and McMinn. The percentages of those counties impacted by D3 extreme drought are 70% for Cumberland and 82% for McMinn. 

There is also a relatively smaller part of Middle Tennessee where extreme drought is present. The most affected county is Bedford, with 86% of its locale facing D3 extreme drought.

According to a drought information statement from the National Weather Service (NWS) weather forecast office in Nashville, in the areas across Tennessee that are affected by drought, conditions either remained unchanged or worsened compared to the week prior. No impacted areas saw improvement.

Below Normal Precipitation, Streamflows Not Helping

Precipitation has been well below normal for most of Tennessee over the past 30 days. For the majority of the state, precipitation deficits have reached at least two inches over that time period, according to the High Plains Regional Climate Center.

According to the NWS, much of the state is seeing below normal to much below normal streamflows, and soil moisture continues to degrade due to the lack of precipitation

In the next seven days, rainfall amounts of 0.5–2 inches are expected across most of the state, said the NWS.

Drought conditions are expected to remain but gradually improve through this spring, according to the NWS. In the hardest hit areas in south-central Tennessee and eastern Tennessee, though, drought may persist.