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Needed rain soaks Middle Tennessee

By Christine Anne Piesyk | October 23, 2007 |

Finally, rain. The dry spell that has plagued the region broke Monday with the onset of a cool heavy rain streaming up from the south — rain that totaled 1 1/2  inches Monday, and today passed the five inch (total) mark, according to the National Weather Service in Nashville.

A Flood Advisory is in effect as the combination of  downpours and runoff is filling some small streams to the banks and triggering some ponding of water in low-lying areas or streets with poor drainage. Use caution, and never drive through roadways that are completely submerged.

This storm system, which is barreling through Middle Tennessee at 40 mph,  is not a drought buster, not when the shortfall before this surge of precipitation was in the double digit numbers. It’s little help to farmers and ranchers who struggled to grow and harvest crops or feed livestock in the absence of adequate grazing and hay.  But any rain is good rain these days, and this rain is the soaking kind that is turning lawns green again, refreshing trees and shrubs, and refilling streams.

With temperatures hovering in the upper 50s and low 60s, area residents broke out not just the rain gear but the sweaters too; though it will be a bit warmer — around 70 — later this week, the overnight lows will stay in the low 50s. Though Autumn began officially September 21, until this week residents still felt caught in clutches of summer.

Showers are expected to continue Wednesday and possibly into Thursday, but the heaviest rain will continue to fall today.

About Christine Anne Piesyk

With 40 years behind me (Huh? What? How did that happen?) as a journalist, feature writer, investigative reporter, editor, and film/theater/arts critic, I brought my liberal New England activism to Tennessee several years ago. having completed a midlife undergraduate degree in community organizing and women's studies, and an MA in Interdisciplinary Arts. I am currently an MFA student at Goddard College. I served on Future Search Commissions for two colleges and an issue-specific commission for the City of Northampton, MA, and did minor undergraduate work in studies in urban planning and community development. I am a community volunteer and a member of FreeThinkers for Peace and Civil Liberties. I am a certified storm spotter. In my spare time (define spare time please?) I am a voracious reader, obsessive movie buff, classical music junkie; I also and design and make sci-fi/fantasy and renaissance costumes. I have an unquenchable interest in just about everything. I see life as an ongoing opportunity for learning and adventure, with the best things still to come. All posts by Christine Anne Piesyk as presented on Clarksville Online are copyright ©2006, 2007 to the author.

Email: womanspeak@yahoo.com

Sections: News
Topics: Drought, Flood Advisory, Rain

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