At least it’s a dry heat.August has proven to be one the hottest, if not the all-time hottest month since 1890, when weather was first recorded in Murfreesboro.“August 2007 in Nashville is averaging nine degrees above normal,†National Weather Service Meteorologist Bobby Boyd said.
“This is 4.2 degrees hotter that the hottest August on record, which was in 1995. This August could also end up being the hottest of any month since record keeping began in Nashville nearly 137 years ago.â€â€œI’m beginning to run out of red ink,†Boyd said. As of Friday, Murfreesboro has broken or tied six August high temperature records, had 21 days with highs above 95 degrees and 26 days since highs were below 90.The city has seen 10 days above 100 degrees this August, shattering the previous August record of seven set in 1954. As one small consolation, the city still hasn’t broken the all-time high of 109 degrees set on Aug. 16, 1954, Boyd said.
The closest we’ve gotten was 106 degrees on Aug. 17 and 18.A stationary upper level high-pressure system has kept temperatures hot and the air dry over the past few weeks, Boyd explained.Since the first of August, Murfreesboro has only seen 1.9 inches of rain, which fairs better than Nashville where only 0.05 inches have fell. Since June 1, 7.26 inches have fallen, which is almost five inches below normal, making this one of the driest summers on record and placing most of Tennessee in an exceptional drought, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.These sweltering conditions had wreaked havoc on water supplies, vegetation and livestock.
The drought conditions are drying up local water sources in Middle Tennessee. Nine communities have implemented mandatory water-use restrictions and 21 have requested customers voluntarily reduce consumption.“Rutherford County has not suffered as much as other counties around us. We’ve gotten rain at some critical times,†explained Dewayne Trail at the UT Agricultural Extension office.Because the critical rain has kept Stones River running, Murfreesboro has yet to see any adverse effects to the water supply, said Alan Cranford, Murfreesboro Water and Sewer Department’s (MWSD) Superintendent of Water Treatment.
“We have seen an increase in demand over the past few weeks and the demand has been steady,†Cranford said. MWSD primarily takes water from the Stones River upstream from Walter Hill Dam, but it has a secondary intake at Percy Priest Lake that is used mostly when water levels are low or demand is high.“The withdrawal from the river and lake are at about the same percentage, but definitely at a higher rate in million gallons per day per pump station, as the last three months,†Cranford said.Luckily for local farmers, water hasn’t been restricted here. Many have to irrigate crops or transport water to livestock because water sources are drying up, Trail said.Julie Vaughn of Rocky Glade Farms in Eagleville saw it first hand.
The pond across the road from her house has dried up.“I’ve never seen it that dry,†she said. In all the years she’s lived there, she’s never seen the bottom of the pond, but she can see it now.“Overall, you still have to say the situation is still crucial,†Trail explained. “I know that over the last few days there have been parts of the county that have received rainfall. That did help those that did get it. But overall, we’re still in that 14-inch rainfall deficit (for the year) and this is the hottest August that anyone can remember.â€Not only do farmers have to deal with water shortages, they also have to feed their herds. The late spring freeze and the continuing hot and dry weather have destroyed local hay pastures.
“It’s about to burn up. It’s very dry,†Vaughn said describing her pastures. “We’ve purchased about 30 bales of hay to get us through the winter.†According to the most recent Tennessee Crop Weather Report from the USDA, 84 percent of pastures in Middle Tennessee are in poor or very poor condition.Vaughn sold off all her spare cattle earlier in the summer, but she kept her brooding stock, which took years to build and can’t be replaced easily.“We’re going to see more and more cattle sold because hay isn’t available and water is a problem,†Trail said.MTSU’s dairy farm is preparing to sell off some cattle, because it doesn’t have hay to last through the winter, said Jason Tanner, farm manager.The hay that is available for herds is expensive and poor quality, Vaughn said.“Usually we’re at $25 to $30 a roll, we paid $55 and it’s not very good quality but it’s what you can get,†she explained. Because of the poor nutritional quality of the hay, she’ll probably have to buy more to get her herd through winter.“Some farmers are buying hay by the truck load from out west,†Vaughn said. The high prices are leading some farmers to request emergency assistance loans from the government.
“One alternative in years past was corn,†Tanner explained, “but demand for ethanol has raised those prices.â€In July, Gov. Phil Bredesen declared Tennessee an agricultural disaster area, which frees up federal funds in the form of low-interest loans for affected farmers.“We have referred several to our loan specialists. Some call them directly and some call us,†said Farm Service Agent Eyvonne Haynes, who has fielded between 50 and 75 calls for help herself.“We do expect to have some disaster programs available, but not until October,†she said. Then farmers can apply for grants to help with feeding costs for “food and fiber animals only,†she added. Dairy farms can also apply for the Livestock Indemnity Program to cover loss of dairy cattle from the heat. Dairy cattle are more susceptible to hot weather than beef cattle, because of the work they do, Haynes said. Tanner explained 90 percent of milk is water, so in the hot and dry conditions dairy cattle are more likely to become dehydrated. The heat can make it difficult for the cows to breathe, he added, which can cause pneumonia. Farmers had also seen their row crops, like corn and soybeans, shrivel in the extreme heat. The crop report places 59 percent of corn and 60 percent of soybean fields in poor to very poor condition.Local homeowners can attest to the damage hot and dry conditions can do to plants.
“Homeowners have had a terrible time trying to keep lawns and existing landscaping alive,†said Karyn Beaty of the Rutherford County Homebuilders Association.“Homeowners are dealing with grass that isn’t growing and has turned brown unless it is irrigated. … but we will see some landscapes that will see the loss of trees and shrubs,†Trail said.Not only are lawns and landscaping threatened by the weather, the heat can also damage houses.“In these incidences, they may be having problems with cracking in foundations and driveways because of the ground drying up and shrinking and then expanding when it gets wet,†Beaty explained.While livestock and plants are suffering through the heat, people are also feeling its effects.“In extremely high temperatures, heat-related illness and death are common,†Tennessee Health Commissioner Susan Cooper said. “With temperatures 100 degrees or higher, the very young, the elderly and those with specific pre-existing health issues are at greater risk.
â€Nationwide about 400 people die from heat stroke each year. This year 14 have died in Tennessee due to the heat wave, 13 in Shelby County, one in Wilson County and none in Murfreesboro.“We have seen several patients throughout the past couple of weeks due to the heat, but they have been treated and released,†said Angie Boyd-Chambers, spokesman for Middle Tennessee Medical Center.Heat waves and drought like this year’s while not common are a natural part of the climate, Boyd explained. They result from upper level high-pressure systems that remain stationary for weeks over the south.
“A ring of fire often develops on the periphery of the upper level high pressure system. Once a drought gets under way it has an insidious way of feeding upon itself,†Boyd said.As soil dries it reflects more sunlight back into the atmosphere, building heat and drying out further, he explained.
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