We’re nearing the end of 2024 — a year with an active hurricane season that saw tropical storm force winds from Helene devastate Western North Carolina and Northeast Tennessee — and yet we face another climate disaster here in the Chattanooga region: extreme drought.
According to a recent report from the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Rhea, Meigs and Coffee counties, half of Bledsoe and portions of Hamilton are facing extreme drought. Other parts of Southeast Tennessee are experiencing abnormally dry conditions, as has been the case for weeks.
Measuring 2024 rainfall levels, the Chattanooga metro area is 15 inches short of the 55 annually that is typical for the area. North Hamilton County is particularly dry as annual rainfall is 18 inches below normal.
It’s a trend that follows 2023, when Chattanooga’s rainfall was nearly 8 inches short of the 55 marker, the Times Free Press reported earlier this year.
These flashes of droughts, paired with extreme weather events like Hurricane Helene, pose issues for aquatic life in the region as the ecosystem is not attuned to such atypical weather patterns.