Summer Rains In Stark Contrast To Recent Drought

Aug 12, 2009      Bristol Herald Courier

Roger Brown

Aug. 12, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Driving through the steady rain Tuesday afternoon, Christine Louis-Emile summed up the thoughts of many in the Mountain Empire region this summer.

"I can personally say I'm sick of this rain," the Bristol, Va., resident, who was stopped at a red light on the Volunteer Parkway, said with a laugh. "I'm tired of driving in it, walking in it, seeing it and getting caught in it."

For others -- including Harry Arnold -- the memory of severe drought is still so fresh that they see the recent seemingly endless rain showers as a blessing.

"It's totally different this summer," said Arnold, president of the Washington County, Va., Farm Bureau. "And amen to that."

This summer's wet weather, overgrown lawns, wet streets and high lake and river levels are the opposite of recent summers, particularly last year, when the Tri-Cities region was in a severe to extreme drought. Lake levels were so low, local officials called for water conservation and warned of danger to boats and jet skis.

In fact, this summer has been the wettest since 2005, said Tim Doyle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Morristown, Tenn. From June 1 through Tuesday afternoon, there had been 13.05 inches of local rainfall, according to data from Tri-Cities Regional Airport in Blountville, Tenn.

"It's easily the wettest summer there's been here since 2005," when 14 inches of rain fell from June through August, Doyle said.

One dramatic example of how wet this summer has been: The current 13 inches of precipitation is nearly as much as the total that fell during the summers of 2007 and 2008 combined, and there's still nearly three weeks remaining in August.

Traditionally, Doyle said, the Bristol-Tri-Cities region has about 9.15 inches of summer rain.

Mark Reynolds, chief meteorologist for News Channel 11 Connects, said the dramatic spike in summer rainfall is attributable to active weather patterns from the cooler Great Lakes region.

"We've been right in the middle of [those patterns]," Reynolds said Tuesday.

But few area farmers would complain about that, said Arnold, head of Virginia's largest farm bureau.

"So far, all looks good with the rain" and area crops, Arnold said.

"The hay crop is better. The corn looks a little better than the past. And the tobacco crop looks really good. It doesn't take long for rain to help that."

Last year, Arnold said, the dry weather made hay so scarce that area farmers had to import it from the Midwest.

And, Arnold said, area farmers aren't worried about getting too much rain during summer's remaining weeks.

"Just as long as there isn't a week where there's a half-inch of rain every day, or an inch, it should be fine," he said.

While the higher rain level has been good for area crops, it has taken a toll on summer recreation spots such as South Holston Lake and Holston River. Rather than worrying about low lake levels, there is now concern the levels are too high. Currently, the lake consistently measures at 1,728 feet above sea level. In 2008, it was often below 1,700 feet.

The higher water level has resulted in less dry land along South Holston's 168 miles of shoreline: a vastly different concern from the previous two years, when many residents fretted that low lake levels had made it more dangerous and less enjoyable to be on the water.

"There is definitely less raw [shoreline] around," said Mike Cook, an area environmentalist and chairman of the recent South Holston Lake and River Cleanup.

Barbara Martocci, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Valley Authority, said so far there's been 5 inches more rainfall in South Holston Lake this year than in 2008.

Given all that, today's forecast shouldn't come as a surprise. It calls for rain showers early with isolated thunderstorms later in the day.

rbrown@bristolnews.com| (276) 645-2512

Newstex ID: KRTB-0313-37176652

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