Rain Falls on Drought in Macon County, Tennessee

Rain over the weekend has brought some relief to drought stricken residents in Macon County, Tennessee and the surrounding areas. The area began to experience scattered showers on Friday, and they have continued off and on throughout the weekend. The precipitation ranged by time and area from a slow steady downpour to a torrential rain, and the effects on lawns and gardens was noticeable after the small showers that popped up on Friday. While the precipitation from the weekend will not alleviate the dry conditions by themselves, there is a chance of rain in the forecast for the area for the next several days sparking hopes by many residents that the forecasters will be correct and they will see a little more rainfall before the system passes.

The sight of rain clouds gathering on the horizon is definitely a welcome sight after what has been one of the driest summers in recent history for most of Middle Tennessee. Water restrictions in many areas have tightened the times and places that water could be used, and forced many farmers and businesses to look for alternative water sources to meet their needs.

Some of the restrictions in Macon County, Tennessee have included a ban on watering crops, gardens and limiting the amount of water that could be used for watering livestock. It also included restrictions to businesses that used a lot of water including laundromats and car washes. The times when these businesses could be open and utilizing the city water supply was limited to 8 hours per day Monday through Friday. Residential restrictions included banning water usage for washing cars or filling swimming pools, and residents were asked to limit their shower time, limit the times they flushed their toilets to when absolutely necessary and to turn off water when they could washing dishes or brushing their teeth.

While the rain over the weekend will almost certainly not get rid of all of these restrictions hopes are high that it will at least allow some of the restrictions to be loosened. Many residents hope to be able to see resurgence in lawns that they have carefully landscaped for years only to watch them wither and die over the course of the drought this summer.

Farmers pray that the rainfall will help to refill the ponds and creeks that help to supply their livestock with water, and that the holding tanks many are utilizing for water to put on their crops are at least partially filled by the on again off again rain in the area. Even though the drought is not over, a little rain fall has gone a long way to raising spirits and renewing hope in an area hit hard by a lack of rainfall this summer.