DUANE SHERRILLEditor

A hot and dry July has left Coffee County under a moderate drought, with the impacts of the dry weather now having potential impacts on crops, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor which showed Bedford and Moore already under severe drought.

Forecasts for the week do show good chances of rain Wednesday through the weekend for the region, with the results hopefully relieving the parched conditions in south central Tennessee and perhaps moving the area of the severe drought category.

Scattered precipitation was common throughout the Southeastern region of the country during the early part of July, but the hit-and-miss left some areas high and dry. Tennessee, northern Alabama and northern Mississippi were the driest regions while southern Georgia, northern Florida, eastern Georgia and northern South Carolina were the wettest areas of the region.

The entire region was near normal to slightly above normal for temperatures with most areas 2-4 degrees above normal and pockets in north Georgia, northern Florida, and central and eastern Tennessee 4-6 degrees above normal. Highs hit near 100 at the first of the week with night giving little relief as lows clung to the 70s with the heat not breaking into late in the evening.

According to the U.S. Drought monitor, drought expanded and intensified quickly over much of Tennessee, northern Alabama, western North Carolina and southern areas of South Carolina and North Carolina. Some improvements were made in southern Georgia and northern and central Florida where moderate drought was removed and some abnormally dry conditions were eliminated. Extreme drought was introduced into portions of South and North Carolina and severe drought was introduced into northern portions of Alabama and Mississippi and into Tennessee.

Severe drought expanded in the Carolinas. The heat and dryness along with the spotty precipitation has seen dryness developing quickly, and this area will need to be monitored closely if conditions don’t change as flash drought conditions are escalating with some areas recording enough precipitation to hold off on immediate expansion and intensification of drought.