| Steady rain still causing damage |
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By: MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer
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Posted: Sunday, September 27, 2009 7:32 am
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Steady rains for the past two weeks have caused damage across the county.
On Sept. 17, floodwaters in the southern part of the county forced the evacuation of 22 homes. The same storm system caused minor damage to the Greenway and was the root of the canceled arts-and-crafts festival last weekend.
“There are some things that are going to require ongoing cleanup,” said Angela Jackson with Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation.
The newest section of the Greenway in the Cason Lane area saw the most damage, she said, adding the end of the new trail was damaged, as well as asphalt, signs and vegetation along the banks of the Stones River was damaged.
The damage isn’t surprising with the Cason Lane area marking 4.28 inches since Sept. 15, according to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS).
“Around Murfreesboro there has been 4.5 to 6 inches of rain this month,” WSMV’s Chief Meteorogist Lisa Spencer said. “And in the southwest corner of Rutherford County 9-10 inches of rain has been reported.”
While Murfreesboro proper has only seen around 4 inches, Rockvale has seen 9.56 inches of rain since Sept. 15, and Christiana has marked between 5.5 inches and 6 inches.
Kittrell and Lascassas are also swimming in rainwater with more than 5 inches of rain in the past week.
“This is definitely not a typical late summer, early fall pattern for us,” Spencer said.
The Nashville airport has recorded more than 8 inches of rain so far this month, according to the National Weather Service.
“(This) guarantees it a spot in the Top 5 wettest Septembers on record,” said Larry Vannozzi, the Meteorologist-in-charge at the NWS’s Nashville office.
“This falls well shy of the record. In fact, over 8 inches fell in just one September day,” Vannozzi continued, adding it was Sept. 4, 1986.
Spencer said the monthly average to date is 2.83 inches, so the Nashville airport is almost 6 inches above normal.
“That makes it one of the wettest Septembers on record and the month isn't over,” she said. “But there is an end in sight. By Sunday expect an end to the rain with abundant sunshine.”
The rain was initially caused by a slow-moving, low-pressure system over the southern Great Plains.
“It started pumping a lot of Gulf moisture up here last week, Vannozzi said. “That storm weakened and moved northeastward over the weekend, causing more rain over (last) weekend as it moved past Tennessee.”
Unfortunately, a new storm developed in the same area and brought more moisture (and warmer temperatures) into Middle Tennessee last week.
“A significant cold front is expected to arrive by Sunday and we are forecasting that it will ‘feel like fall’ by Monday with much drier air and sunnier skies,” Vannozzi said.
Even with all the rain, local waterways are in good condition and threatening to flood, Vannozzi said.
“We believe that the dry spell we had earlier this month allowed the rivers to handle all this rain pretty easily,” he added.
Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com. |
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