Drought, Franklin
- When
- September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Franklin forecast zone
- Reported by
- Other Federal Agency
- Coordinates
- 35.155, -86.092 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought in Tennessee, September 1 to 30, 2008
September turned out to be an extremely dry month. High pressure dominated the weather most of the month, with the only substantive rainfall occurring in the first week of September.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS HUN wrote it up.
September turned out to be an extremely dry month. High pressure dominated the weather most of the month, with the only substantive rainfall occurring in the first week of September. Even then, the heaviest rain from that event occurred just west of the area. Due to the very dry airmass, high temperatures were above normal, and low temperatures were below normal for most of the month.
Drought conditions were generally status-quo during the month. Although there was still some residual improvement from Fay early in the month, this was wiped out by the end of September due to the resumption of dry conditions. This left D2 /Severe Drought/ in Franklin County.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Huntsville, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 31, 11:20 PM CST, 40 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 31, 11:20 PM CST, 40 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1220 AM CDT SEP 1 2008 .UPDATE...FOR 06Z TAFS/AVIATION DISCUSSION && .AVIATION...A COUPLE OF FACTORS WILL LIMIT FOG DEVELOPMENT THIS MORNING...A THICKER CIRRUS SHIELD FLOWING NORTH FROM GUSTAV...AND INCREASING EASTERLY FLOW TOWARD MORNING. THUS...HAVE OPTED TO KEEP KMSL ABOVE LIFR VSBY. AT KHSV...MAINTAINED A TEMPO GROUP FOR MVFR VSBY FROM 10-13Z. LATEST 00Z GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SUGGEST SUSTAINED WINDS OF AROUND 15KT BY LATE MONDAY MORNING. OTHERWISE...FEW-SCT CU FIELD SHOULD STILL DEVELOP DESPITE INCREASING CS CLOUD DECK. && .DISCUSSION...CU FIELD HAS ESSENTIALLY DISSIPATED OVER THE CENTRAL TN VALLEY...ALONG WITH THE CORRESPONDING THREAT OF EVENING TSRA/SHRA. && AVIATION: 09 DISCUSSION: AK
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 31, 9:04 PM CST, 2 hours 56 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1004 PM CDT SUN AUG 31 2008 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-011000- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DE KALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 1004 PM CDT SUN AUG 31 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...THROUGH TONIGHT... THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. PATCHY VALLEY FOG WILL DEVELOP AFTER MIDNIGHT. ANY THICK FOG SHOULD BE LIMITED TO DEEPER VALLEYS OR NEAR BODIES OF WATER...WHERE VISIBILITY COULD DROP TO BELOW 1 MILE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. AN UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN OVER THE TENNESSEE VALLEY WILL LEAD TO ISOLATED TO SCATTERED AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY AND TUESDAY. THE REMNANTS OF HURRICANE GUSTAV MAY STILL AFFECT THE REGION THROUGH MID WEEK...PRODUCING SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. WINDS WILL BE BREEZY AT TIMES...WITH SOME GUSTS APPROACHING 25 TO 30 MILES AN HOUR BETWEEN TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE TENNESSEE VALLEY REGION BY NEXT SATURDAY...BRINGING ANOTHER SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. TROUTMAN/AK
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Drought
- A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Hurricane and Tornadoes in Louisiana, September 1 to 3, 2008
- Hurricane and Tornadoes in Louisiana, September 1 to 2, 2008
- Tropical Storm and Flash Flooding in Louisiana, September 1 to 3, 2008
- Flash Flood and Debris Flows in Puerto Rico, September 1 to 3, 2008
- Tornadoes and Tropical Storm in Mississippi, September 1 to 4, 2008
- Tornadoes and Tropical Storm in Louisiana, September 1 to 3, 2008
- Tornado and Tropical Storm in Arkansas, September 1 to 3, 2008
- Hurricane and Storm Surge in Mississippi, September 1 to 2, 2008
- Storm Surge in Alabama, September 1, 2008
- Storm Surge in Florida, September 1 to 2, 2008
- Storm Surge in Florida, September 1, 2008
- Flash Flooding in Alabama, September 1, 2008
More
Every storm in Tennessee in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, September 2008
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 134391.