It’s been a dry November. And October.
“Our last recorded precipitation Oct. 30 didn’t add up to much of anything,” Mark Baldwin, meteorologist, told the Chronicle.
Rainfall at the end of October amounted to .04 of an inch. The rainfall before that was only .05 of an inch.
“We haven’t had even .1 of an inch of rain since Oct. 6,” Baldwin said.
The county is currently 3.72 inches below normal rainfall.
“The reason it’s not more of a deficit is because this is our dry time of the year,” Baldwin said.
But a good portion of the state is considered to be in “extreme drought” by the U.S. Drought Monitor. That’s one step below the most severe category of “exceptional drought.”
Because it’s a typically dry time of year — and people aren’t needing water for plants of crops — Baldwin said they may not recognize the impact of drought conditions. But lack of rain impacts the water table.
Crossville Water Resources Director Joe Kerley said the city’s water reservoirs were holding up to the drought conditions.
Meadow Park Lake is down 25 inches from its normal pool. Holiday Lake is down 30 inches, but the city had lowered the level intentionally to allow for homeowners to take care of maintenance along their property.
Crab Orchard Utility District General Manager Everett Bolin said Otter Creek Lake, which supplies the utility’s water, was down some, but he doesn’t anticipate issues with water supply at this time.
“We should be OK,” Bolin said. “Our lake gets good replenishment. For every inch of rain, we get a foot in the lake.”
The dry conditions are sparking brush fires across the county, however.
Cumberland County Fire Capt. Braeden Adams said his department has averaged 10-12 calls a day for several days to put out brush fires.
“It’s just dry,” Adams said. “Until we get rain, it’s going to continue to get worse.”
Several fires have begun with people burning debris.
“They think it’s safe, but the wind picks up and carries their fire,” Adams said.
Two recent fires resulted in individuals causing damage to a neighboring property or equipment.
Cumberland County Fire has three firefighters on duty each day, supplemented by volunteers when available.
They work with other agencies like the Tennessee Division of Forestry and Crossville Fire Department, but wildfires are stretching resources.
“It’s a strain on us,” Adams said.
He encourages everyone to “Think before they burn.”
Burn permits are required from Oct. 15-May 15, available from the Tennessee Division of Forestry online at burnsafetn.org or by calling 877-350-BURN.
Right now, there is hazardous fire weather, restricting permits from being issued.
Those living in the city limits should contact the Crossville Fire Department for permits.
Current weather conditions have resulted in a ban on outdoor burning until Nov. 13 “or until we get much-needed rainfall,” a post on the department’s Facebook page states.
Burning is not permitted in Fairfield Glade at any time.
Baldwin does see rain ahead in the long-range forecast.
“California is getting snow and rain this week,” he said.
That weather pattern will move east over the next couple of weeks, potentially bringing rain to Tennessee the week of Thanksgiving.
This year also includes an El Niño weather pattern from the Pacific Ocean.
“We expect above average precipitation this winter,” Baldwin said.
And because October and November are drier months, he said it would not take much to move the area out of drought conditions.
“We can catch up pretty quickly if we can get two
or three good rains,” he
said.
Baldwin publishes his daily forecast at his site, meteorologistmark.com.