As dry as it seems, a majority of the Upper Cumberland only experiencing moderate drought according to the US Drought Monitor released Thursday.
At least 80 percent of middle Tennessee now under a severe drought. The report showed Putnam County experienced its fifth driest March in the past 132 years.
Regional dry conditions began to build in late summer and early fall of 2025. Putnam County saw a decrease of 3.33 inches of rainfall from normal levels during March.
Since the start of the year, most areas of the southeast are about eight inches below normal in rainfall.
“The persistent dry conditions have allowed soil moisture and streamflow deficits to intensify and expand across the Southeast,” Officials said in Thursday’s report.
Drought covers the majority of every state in the Southeast, including 93.65 percent of Tennessee. Over the past four weeks, every state in the region has seen drought worsen, the press release said.
The good news, the National Weather Service reports above-average rainfall in the next 8 to 14 days. Nashville forecasters said that will help with pollen and fires, but will not increase stream levels.
