Farmers watching skies, forecasts for showers

Hollis Isbell is keeping a close watch on weather reports hoping forecasters will report heavy rain is on its way to the Shoals.

"I've been farming 50 years, and I don't think I've ever seen it this dry at this time of year," Isbell said Monday. "We keep watching the skies, hoping one of these fronts coming through will finally bring us some heavy rain."

The National Weather Service reported Monday that portions of the Shoals east of the Natchez Trace Parkway are in a severe drought. The region had previously been in a moderate drought. The area west of the parkway remains in a moderate drought.

On Monday, the Alabama Forestry Commission scaled back a fire alert that had been in place for much of the state, leaving only Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence and Limestone counties in the alert area. During the alert, the state forester has to approve any permits for outdoor fires.

"It's still too dry to burn outdoors," said John Everitt, the forestry commission's manager for Colbert. "Most people don't realize how dry we are. It's so dry when we have a woods fire, trees that are starting to green-up will burn like candlesticks."

It is the second driest first three months of a year on record for the Shoals. Only 1910 was drier, said Chris Darden, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Huntsville.

In Huntsville, which is in an extreme drought, it's the driest start of a year ever recorded, Darden said.

Only 1.49 inches of rain were recorded at the Northwest Alabama Regional Airport in Muscle Shoals during March. Normal rainfall for the month is 6.21 inches.

Rainfall for the year is 9.19 inches below normal.

Isbell said it's the first time he has had to irrigate his cornfields in March. Not all of his fields have access to irrigation, and he is worried drought will soon take a toll on the nonirrigated corn.

"If we don't get some April showers, I'm afraid a lot of our farmers are going to be hurting," said Randall Armstrong, Lauderdale County coordinator of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

"We had a little rain in places last week that was enough to get corn to germinate. But we're going to need some more rain pretty soon to keep it growing," Armstrong said.

Rain is possible tonight and Wednesday in the Shoals. While any rain would help farmers, the rainfall is predicted to be far short of being enough to end their worries.

"We're not sure what we're going to do when cotton planting time comes if it's still this dry," Isbell said.

Darden said a line of showers and possible thunderstorms expected to pass through the Tennessee Valley tonight will give the region its best chance of rain in several weeks. Only about ½-inch of rain is expected.

"We need two or three days of good, steady rain to break the drought, and unfortunately, there is not any relief like that in sight," he said.

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