Rain washes away pollen, but fails to improve drought

Thundershowers that rumbled through the Tennessee Valley before dawn Wednesday washed away much of the pollen that was making people sneeze and cough.

The rainfall failed to put much of a dent in a drought that has plagued the area this spring. Rainfall in the Shoals is more than 8 inches below normal for the year.

At the Northwest Alabama Regional Airport in Muscle Shoals, .43 of an inch of rain was recorded Wednesday. Some unofficial rain gauges around the Shoals collected almost an inch of rain. Some communities received none.

Tim Reed, coordinator of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System's Franklin County office, said Wednesday's rain did little to help farmers with parched fields and pastures.

"Most people only got about a quarter-inch of rain. A quarter-inch is not enough to even make a seed germinate in dry soil," he said. "It's still very, very dry."

The rain also fell short of easing the threat of woods and grass fires. A fire alert issued by the Alabama Forestry Commission remains in effect. During the alert, the commission rarely issues permits for outdoor fires.

"We don't want any outdoor burning until we get a good half-inch of rain across the entire area," said Lou Hyman, assistant director of the commission's fire services division.

The lack of rain is also causing concern for the Tennessee Valley Authority.

"We've cut way back on our hydroelectric generation. We're trying to hold on to all the water we can to maintain water levels in our reservoirs," TVA spokesman Gil Francis said.

TVA's Tennessee River lakes, such as Wheeler, Wilson and Pickwick, are within their normal operating range for early spring, he said. Its tributary lakes in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina are below normal.

To reach normal summertime levels on its lakes, TVA will need an inch of rain each week through the end of May, Francis said.

Rain is possible today, Saturday and Sunday. Rainfall amounts are expected to be much less than what is needed to break the drought.

Dennis Sherer can be reached at 740-5746 or dennis.sherer@timesdaily.com.