KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Storms sweeping across East Tenessee from Wednesday through Friday will fill up local lakes, rivers and streams with plenty of rainwater. That water is something the Tennessee Valley Authority is monitoring around the clock.
James Everett with TVA said the agency prepares ahead of time for heavy rainfall or remnants of a hurricane. Hurricane Helene is expected to bring plenty of rain to East Tennessee on Friday after it hits the southern United States.
“We are using weather information from the National Weather Service,” said Everett.
Everett said the job involves balancing the rain as it falls with how much water is already in the rivers, tributaries and reservoirs.
“That’s why it’s important for us to have the tributary reservoirs lowered for these tropical events, so we have flood space available,” said Everett.
Everett said the amount of rainfall East Tennessee is expected to see will affect areas that might not see rain at all, because of how integrated the river system is.
“All these reservoirs are interdependent of one another,” said Everett.
Everett said in the coming days, TVA will continue to monitor the weather and river system. It will also be prepared to store or release the water at any time.