Tennessee (state)

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Climate

The climate of Tennessee is characterized by hot summers, mild winters, and abundant rainfall.

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Temperature

Average July temperatures range from less than 21° C (70° F) in the Blue Ridge region to 27° C (80° F) at Nashville and Memphis. Maximum daytime temperatures in summer often rise above 35° C (95° F) in central and western Tennessee. Daytime temperatures in the mountains rarely rise above 32° C (90° F). Summer nights tend to be warm and muggy in central and western Tennessee, but temperatures often are cooler in the east.

Average January temperatures range from less than 1° C (34° F) in the eastern mountains to more than 6° C (42° F) in southwestern Tennessee. In west-central Tennessee, even in midwinter, daytime temperatures often rise to a pleasant 10° C (50° F). Short periods of freezing temperatures occur in lowlands, but temperatures below -18° C (0° F) normally occur only in the mountain areas.

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Precipitation

Average precipitation (rainfall and snowfall) ranges from more than 1,500 mm (60 in) in some of the higher mountain areas to less than 1,100 mm (45 in) in the more protected sections of the Ridge and Valley province. In western and central areas most precipitation falls during winter and early spring in the form of rain. Snowfall is light in the center and west, but it is often heavy in the eastern mountains. Thunderstorms occur frequently during spring and summer.

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Growing Season

The growing season ranges from less than 150 days in northeastern Tennessee to more than 230 days in the southwest. The last killing spring frost usually occurs in the third week of March in western Tennessee and about 10 days later in the east. The first killing fall frost usually occurs in early November.

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Soils

The principal soils in Tennessee are the red and yellow podzols, which occupy most of the lowland areas of the Ridge and Valley province and the western and central areas of the state. Light brown in color, these soils erode easily, require especially careful management, and are characteristically poor in organic matter and nutrients. The most productive podzols occur in the Nashville Basin, where the underlying rock, a phosphatic limestone, contributes unusually high amounts of phosphorus to the soil. Somewhat less productive are the podzols developed on the Highland Rim and the Gulf Coastal Plain.

Lithosols, or thin mountain soils, cover most of the Cumberland Plateau and the ridges and mountains of eastern Tennessee. Highly acidic, these soils support meager crops and pastures. Much of the land is forested. Alluvial soils, which are productive when properly drained and cultivated, predominate in the Mississippi bottomlands and in other river valleys. Near the Mississippi River is a band of loess, a very fine-textured, wind-deposited, soil that is highly productive.

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