Chattanooga experienced one of its warmest, driest years on record — 145 years — in 2023, with temperatures ranging 2-4 degrees above normal compared with 1991-2020 climate data, largely stemming from the drought that gripped the region in the fall.
Statewide, Tennessee from east to west was 2 to 2.6 degrees warmer in 2023 than the 20th-century average temperature for the state while notching the third-driest year in 70 years, according to the Tennessee Climate Office at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. The climate office issued its 2023 Tennessee State Climate Summary this month.
"It was Chattanooga's third-warmest year on record going back to 1879," Wil Tollefson, assistant state climatologist, said in a phone interview. "Southeast Tennessee was a little bit warmer than other parts of East Tennessee for the year, and I think a lot of that was because of the drought this fall. Southeast Tennessee, Chattanooga and the southern valley was kind of the epicenter, or starting point, for our drought this fall, and because of that I think temperatures there were a little bit higher than other parts of East Tennessee."
Drought and heat waves go hand in hand, Tollefson said.
(READ MORE: Exceptional drought: Rain unlikely to bring much relief to Chattanooga region)
"The extra heat can cause more evaporation, dry out plants and soils, and then when you have less water to evaporate, the energy from the sun goes into creating heat that we would feel," he said. "I think that's probably why it was warmer in Southeast Tennessee, is because of that drought, and it really started in August. Chattanooga recorded less than an inch-and-a-half of rain from the end of August all the way to mid-November. All that sunlight went right into heating up the ground and making it hotter."
After six years of above-average rainfall, Chattanooga in 2023 logged the driest September since 1919. For September 2023, 0.13 inches of rain fell, and October remained parched, meteorologists said last year.
The Chattanooga region was almost 10 inches below normal rainfall as weeks of drought deepened going into mid-November, according to forecasters and National Weather Service records. Drought conditions sparked wildfires throughout East Tennessee, Northwest Georgia and neighboring states. Rising fire danger in November forced Dolly Parton's Dollywood to temporarily halt guests from entering the park because of a nearby wildfire.
Records show 2023 was also the driest year statewide since 1953, according to the weather service.
The portion of the state experiencing exceptional drought in 2023 was the largest since 2016, according to the climate office. A record-low water mark was set for the Mississippi River in Memphis at minus 11.85 feet on Oct. 16, beating the record from 2022 of minus 10.8 feet.
There were a few exceptions, with parts of Northeast Tennessee recording 110-120% of their normal annual precipitation, and a few other patches of West Tennessee recording up to 110% of their normal annual precipitation, according to the climate office.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.