NASHVILLE, Tenn. (OSBORNE) -- The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for area rivers and streams beginning tomorrow night and running through Thursday.
Nashville Weather Office Meteorologist Sam Herron says two storm systems will drop several inches of additional rain on the area over the next 48 hours. The first will push through tonight. The second will push into the mid-state tomorrow night and Herron says it’s that second system that has forecasters worried.
“Maybe two inches of rain, perhaps even heavier amounts in some areas could give us some flooding, perhaps localized flash flooding and will certainly aggravate the conditions on area streams and rivers that are already running high.”
Middle Tennessee has already received three times normal rainfall during the month of February. That’s left the ground saturated and area rivers and streams running at or near flood stage.
“The Cumberland River has been running high with releases going on from the upstream damns along the Cumberland. Also the Tennessee River has been running high for some time now and that’s likely to continue for at least another week or two. The Buffalo and Duck River are also running at elevated levels.
On the plus side, Herron says all this rain is helping the mid-state catch up on precipitation after several years of unusually dry weather.
Once the rain clears the area on Thursday, we should get a chance to dry out. Several days of sunshine are forecast to begin on Friday.