Boots and sweaters can stay in storage.
Near-drought conditions have left Chattanooga more than 10 inches below the normal rainfall and still sweating from above-average temperatures, said Paul Barys, meteorologist with WRCB-TV.
“This is the beginning of what could turn into a serious situation,” Barys said.
The forecasts show that October temperatures will reach the low 80s on a daily basis, significantly higher than the mid- to upper 70s recorded in Octobers past, said Craig Carpenter at the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tenn.
Will extended summer heat halt plans to take an autumn walk through freshly fallen leaves? Some tourism officials don’t think so.
Bob Doak of the Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors Bureau said it is the festivals and attractions – not just the trees -that make the region special.
“We believe many people in the Southeast have endured an unusually hot summer and there could hopefully be a pent-up demand for a fall vacation in the great outdoors,” Doak said.
Tourist attractions that get visitors out of the heat have been scoring huge crowds as the fall begins.
Leslie Burns, a tour guide at Ruby Falls, said people are drawn to attractions that are not affected by the weather, such as the underground falls and the Tennessee Aquarium.
“I think people want to come here because it’s 60 degrees in the caves,” Burns said.
While some curse the heat, others praise the warm weather for extending the season for water sports such as kayaking and canoeing, said Ruthie Thompson, events and marketing coordinator for Outdoor Chattanooga.
“We’re still needing to remind people to drink a lot of water, though,” Thompson said.
“We really encourage anyone who is going hiking to check with park services and make sure there are still sources of running water,” Thompson said. “A lot of them are dried up.”
As for the chance of rain, Barys said the only real relief could come from tropical weather systems, including hurricanes, developing in early October and dropping rain on the eastern states.
The combination of hot weather and dry leaves also presents another problem – forest fires – as the fall burning season begins. The season starts on Oct. 1, according to the Air Pollution Control Bureau website.
In an attempt to maintain air quality, all burning is banned in Hamilton County between May and September. From October to April, burning is allowed once proper permits have been filed, according to the website.
Drag Sharp, with the U.S. Forest Service in North Georgia, said forest rangers judge the soil’s water level on a scale from one to 800, and anything over 350 means trouble. Recently, some places in the Chattanooga and North Georgia areas have reached 600 on that scale.
Contact Jessie Gable at jgable@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6345.