Hot, wet summer in East Tennessee

Heavy rain fell Sunday night across Knoxville, bringing reports of flooding.

Posted: Aug 3, 2022 / 11:17 AM EDT

Updated: Aug 3, 2022 / 04:16 PM EDT

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WATE) — More than 18 inches of rain fell on Mt. Leconte in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in July, the most ever in a single month since 1988 when the National Weather Service began keeping records.

Records show that 16 locations in East Tennessee and Virginia received more than 10 inches of rain during the 31 days in July. More rain, however, did not mean lower temperatures. The weather service said the month can be “summarized with above normal temperatures and precipitation amounts.”

Knoxville had 18 days above 90º in July, beating the average of 12 days. The hottest day reached 95º. Overall the average temperature is 80.3º. Overall, Knoxville usually sees about 34 days in the +90º range each year and has recorded 32 days in that temperature range so far this year.

To get averages, temperatures are compared to the historical averages since recordkeeping began. Records have been kept on Knoxville weather since 1871.

Meanwhile, Tri-Cities recorded 9 days above 90º in July — the average there is 7 days — with an average temperature of 77.8º for the month. That’s 2.2º above average. So far in 2022, Tri-Cities has recorded 21 days of +90º weather. That’s above the yearly average of 20 days, according to the National Weather Service data.

Chattanooga recorded 24 days of heat above 90º, up from an average of 15, with an above-normal temperature average of 83.1º. That city usually sees an average temperature around 80 degrees in July. On average, the city averages 46 days above 90º each year and so far in 2022, 47 days have been recorded.

Collection location and total inches of precipitation in July, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown: