KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Around two weeks ago, WBIR spoke with Lia Bevins, the Farm Manager at Beardsley Community Farm, about the widespread moderate drought. She said many of her plants weren't doing well and she was hoping for rain.
Now, it's here — but Bevins said it's too much. She harvested produce all morning because the rain made them grow too quickly.
"You can kind of look around and there's just huge puddles around the farm. So it's a good thing, but it's definitely a lot at one time," she said.
She said it's gone from one extreme to the next, but some of her plants like the beans, squash, and cucumbers are thriving.
"Those are coming up and definitely getting a lot of water, which is exciting," Bevins said.
10Weather Impact Meteorologist Cassie Nall has been monitoring this shift in weather conditions. She said this has been the driest start to July on record, but now things are changing.
"In the last eight to nine days, we've had almost three weeks worth of rain," she said.
She said weather conditions can be difficult to predict, so there's not much gardeners and farmers can do to prepare. She also said just because it's raining doesn't mean the drought is over.
"It does look like our pattern is going to warm up as we go into next week. But we do keep those above-average rainfall chances going, and looking ahead into the month of August, the climate prediction center also shows confidence in above-average rainfall chances. Let's hope that happens," Nall said.
While rain is staying in the forecast, Bevins said she hopes it'll calm down.
"We're almost into our fall planting season, but we're not quite there yet. So this rain would be really great in three weeks," Bevins said.
Bevins said gardeners and farmers across East Tennessee should check on their plants to make sure they haven't had too much water. She also said now is the time to plant some late summer plants.