2007 TOP 10 STORIES OF THE YEAR-3. Mother Nature unkind
In April, a late freeze gripped the area. Temperatures dipped below freezing for three nights. According to a federal estimate, farmers in Warren County suffered $100 million in losses.
Relief from the cold came in days, but its impact is still being felt by the nursery industry.
The summer drought and heat wave were record-breaking. During the summer, temperatures from the mid-90s to over 100 smothered Tennessee with very little rainfall.
The prolonged drought hurt farmers by killing off crops and reducing the size of those remaining. Cattle owners were also hurt because the dry weather damaged pasture land and decreased the amount of available hay. The summer-long drought caused an estimated loss of two-thirds of Warren County’s hay.
While crops and cattle suffered in the heat, residents were given heat advisories encouraging them to stay indoors, limit outside activities and stay hydrated. Locally, the last option was easier said than done.
Other counties in Tennessee had a shortage of drinking water, but Warren County did not. However, by mid-August good-tasting water was in short supply within the city limits.
Although long since gone, blue-green algae formed once water ceased to flow over the Barren Fork Dam in August. Because McMinnville retrieves its drinking water just above the dam, residents were left with bad-tasting, foul-smelling water for a few weeks.
The state of Tennessee asked for a disaster designation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for both the freeze and the drought. Those requests were granted.