What number do National Football League Hall of Famer Jim Otto, NBA Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas and the amount of rain Chattanooga has seen this month have in common? Zero.
While the sports superstars above bore the number only on their jerseys, the vegetation of the Tennessee Valley is having to bear life without a drop of rain.
“We’re having an awfully rough time this year,” said John Thomason, a certified arborist with ABC Tree Services. “The plants have been in a very dry stress.”
The last time Chattanooga saw rain was on Sept. 30, and those showers only provided a six-hundredth of an inch, according to the National Weather Service.
Showers are expected to begin briefly moving through the Scenic City by Wednesday, said Paul Barys, WRCB-Channel 3’s chief meteorologist. After that, he said, there won’t be another chance for rain until about Oct. 23.