First Alert Weather: Middle Tennessee drought to improve with soaking rain this week

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Multiple rounds of rain are expected this week across Middle Tennessee & Kentucky, starting late Tuesday and continuing into the holiday weekend.

By the time we add it all up, most spots will average between 1″-2″; locally higher totals of 2″-3″ will be possible in spots. The rainfall will be enough to produce noticeable improvements in drought conditions by restoring moisture to topsoil and increasing water levels in creeks and streams that have been running low.

Still, this rain alone won’t be enough to erase the drought.

To fully eliminate the drought in just one month, Nashville would need nearly 13.5″ inches of rain. While this week’s rainfall will dent the drought, it won’t end it completely.

Even so, the rain could have benefits beyond the immediate improvement.

Rain begets rain, and drought begets drought simply because when we are in a wet pattern, there is more moisture available to evaporate back into the atmosphere, which keeps the atmosphere full of enough moisture to support additional rainfall. When we are in severe drought — the absence of ground moisture means there’s less moisture around to evaporate back into the air.

In other words, this upcoming rain will not only help ease the drought directly, but may also help shift the weather pattern toward a wetter one heading into late May and early summer.

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