Tennessee Could Experience More Rain and Warmer Days This Summer

Tennessee could be in for a warmer and wetter summer than usual.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Caroline Adcock said this is due to the predicted change from La Nina to El Nino. She said we have been in a La Nina for the past few years.

“Basically we will be moving into an El Nino by the winter,” Adcock said. “What that means for us over the summer is that we are expecting above normal seasonal temperatures, and then also above normal precipitation for the summer.”

Adcock said that Middle Tennessee is currently just below its average rainfall, and the rainy summer should bring the percentages up to normal.

“We don’t have any drought conditions so far, as we move into the summer though, since we are expecting our rainfall chances to tick up into that above normal precipitation, we probably should just remain around near normal to above normal.”

Adcock said that El Nino and La Nina patterns are based on sea surface temperatures in South America.

Adcock said the patterns always vary, but the National Weather Service is predicting an over 90% chance of moving into El Nino by the winter. Adcock said the recent cooler spring does not necessarily mean the summer will also be cooler.

“Generally speaking when we are looking at overall trends we might have periods or a couple of days where we can still be below normal, but the overall trend is going to be above normal,” Adcock said. “So just because we have above normal for the summer, If we were to add everything up then it’s going to be above normal, but we could every now and then still see a couple of days, maybe weeks here or there where it could fall below normal.”