‘And, the rains came tumbling down...’ on The Murfreesboro Post

Sidebar Ads

‘And, the rains came tumbling down...’

Related Articles

La Vergne introduces CodeRED

Surviving the Storm comes to La Vergne

This is just a test, MTSU says

Murfreesboro residents enjoy warmest winter in decades

Schools closing early due to severe weather

Murfreesboro prepared for snow

Donations for Alabama tornado victims being accepted

Rutherford County Schools closed Friday

Mild winter forecast for Middle Tennessee

After hailstorm, most of MTSU fleet flying again

View All

By: MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer

Posted: Sunday, May 17, 2009 7:27 am

‘And, the rains came tumbling down...’ | Weather

Jazz fans huddled under umbrellas at Jazzfest. That Friday was the first of many rains days this May.

Usually April showers bring May flowers, but this May has brought excessive rain and headaches to area farmers and gardeners.

According to the National Weather Service, the first 11 days of May 2009 are the third wettest on record with 6.66 inches recorded in Nashville.

“Rainfall for May in Nashville has already surpassed the normal monthly May rainfall of 5.07 inches by more than one and a half inches,” NWS Meteorologist Bobby Boyd said.

Murfreesboro has been just as wet, collecting 3.69 inches in the rain gauge in May, more than an inch and a half above the average 2.13 inches for the first 14 days of the month.

Murfreesboro has gotten 11.38 inches of rain since April 1, which is 5.16 inches above normal. For the year, Murfreesboro has gotten 22.56 inches of rain, 2.56 above normal.

The extra rain is good for the water table, which was still running low from the 2007 heat wave and drought, but it can be bad news for farmers and gardeners, explained Dewayne Trail, director of the Rutherford County UT/TSU Agricultural Extension Office.

2007 posted a record-breaking year that ended more than 14 inches below normal for rainfall and broke or tied more than 20 weather records.

Last year, while slightly wetter than 2007, still ended more than 10 inches below normal for rainfall.

But this May has made up for the lack of rain over the past two years, causing high waters and floods near rivers, creeks and streams.

“(May is) surpassed only by 2003 with 9.17 inches and 1984 with 8.85 inches,” Boyd said. And we’re only halfway through the month.

The wettest May recorded was in 1983 with 11.04 inches. The second wettest was 2003 with 10.73 inches.

“In contrast the driest May on record was back in 1951 when 0.83 inches fell. 2005 ended as the third driest on record with 1.03 inches,” Boyd added.

"As nice as a little rain is, local farmers need a few dry days to get out in the field to cut hay and plant crops,” Trail said.

“The big issue now is hay and forages. They need to cut and they can’t find that opening,” he said, explaining farmers must first cut the hay and let it cure in the fields before it can be baled.

“We really need at least three or four days or a week for the ground to dry so farmers can cut and cure before they can harvest,” he added.

And in the next few weeks, farmers will need to get back out in their fields to plant corn and soybeans for the summer harvest.

Local gardeners are also having trouble tending their plots, or even just getting their plots started, Trail said.

Some gardeners like to wait until the last threat of a freeze has past before getting out and working the ground, but those green thumbs have been idle the past few weeks because of the excessive rainfall.

“It’s been so wet and rainy it’s been hard to get in and prepare the ground,” Trail said.

But those who were lucky enough to get their gardens in early have their own set of problems.

Trail said it doesn’t matter if they grow from seed or transplants, there are just some warm season plants, like tomatoes and strawberries, that will not tolerate soggy ground.

“Excess ground moisture causes something we call ‘damping off’, which actually causes transplants to die or the tiny seedlings to die before they establish,” he explained.

“Damping off” is cause by a fungus infecting a seedling or transplant, causing the plant to die.

It’s a problem because gardeners have to choose between replanting the garden or trying to salvage what is left and deal with a smaller backyard crop.

The excessive ground water can also affect the taste of some fruits and vegetables and can cause them to burst or crack.

“In addition to that problem, you have the problem of getting in and working as you need to,” Trail said, “and because of the excess ground moisture, it promotes the growth of weeds or grass that you have to get out some way.”

But Trail said he’s not complaining.

“I can’t complain about the rain at all because we need to restore the water table because of the loss in ’07. We haven’t recovered,” he said.

Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com.

Tagged under Weather

Member Opinions:

By: keepingtabs on 5/18/09
"Dam: That's A lot of water" - Picture title.

For a paper that does not allow cussin' in its comments, this play on words shows a double standard.

Oh yeah, it was a staff member who did it. That makes it OK; besides it wasn't the REAL word anyway.

By: kcouncil on 5/18/09
keepingtabs: You are mistaken. No double standards here. Our terms of service does not say anything about profanity. However we do reserve the right to remove vulgar language or language that is inflammatory. More than once a 'cuss' word has been allowed in context. Furthermore, the photo was of a dam on stones river, which allowed for a play on words. Much like when we use the words 'darn' or 'shoot' when we know we mean something else. - Kim Council, Director of Operations

By: RespectTheLaw on 5/18/09
kcouncil: I and other readers still find it distasteful. What next, porn photos?