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Middle Tennessee State Forecast:                                                                                        

“Tennesseeing is Tennebelieving”

                                    -Welcome to Tennessee sign as seen on The Simpson’s.                                              

THE INTRO: 

Wow, did anyone catch the article about the Governor’s report on Global Warming in the state of Maryland in the 21^st Century?   I believe it was The Sun who covered it in their Sunday paper.  Pretty alarming.  Our winters are going to be like Charleston, SC winters and our summers are going to be like Phoenix with humidity.  Sea levels will rise 4 feet (so long Dorchester County!) and most of our trees will be replaced with pine trees.  Maryland maybe a border state now, but it sounds like we’ll be like the Deep South pretty soon! 

Speaking of South the Terps head south to Music City to face the Mighty Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State.  Now knowing what I know about history (sometimes it’s a curse I know), I wonder why the heck a team from Tennessee would adapt the nickname of Blue Raiders?  When I hear that name I think of Union Cavalry riding around Middle Tennessee burning tobacco barns and stealing chickens, but why would a school name their mascot after an occupying army?

Now if this were EASTERN Tennessee State, I could understand.  What most people don’t realize, including even those indigenous to the area today was that Eastern Tennessee despite being in the South was fiercly pro-Union during the Civil War (I’ve read some history books which compared Eastern Tennessee to Maryland in that both had strong leanings toward the other side, but were too far behind enemy lines to have a say about their situation).  But now I’m getting even further from the main point of this article.

Back to 2008 and Football Season.  I’m not going to say that this is a huge game for the Terps, because let’s face it, we finished 6-6 last year, so every game is huge for us, we don’t need constant reminding.  But this one is going to be tough in that unlike most D-I schools we throw some smaller schools a bone and actually travel to them on occasion so that they can sell tickets as well.  I’m not saying we are doing MTSU any favors, because we all know how Maryland can lay eggs on early season non-BCS road games, and I don’t think any of use are expecting to roll out of bed, beat the crap out of MTSU and then fly back to Maryland.  So despite the lack of buzz surrounding this game non conference game, it still remains a big test for the Terps.

But enough of this football talk, let’s get back to the weather:

THE HISTORY:

For those traveling to Nashville, and I can’t say that I know any D7’ers going, but I’m sure there may be some Maryland fans somewhere heading to the Tennessee Capital, I think you will find conditions much like they are in the Mid-Atlantic for this time of year.  The average high for Nashville is 84F (same as the average high for DC during the Delaware game) and the average low is 64F.  The record high in Nashville for this day is 103 set back in 1925, and the record low is 51 set in 1988.  The game time kickoff for this match up is at 7:00 so despite the high for the day, whatever it ends up being, things should be somewhat comfortable as the game kicks off. 

THE FORECAST:

Looking at the September 6^th forecast from the Farmers Almanac, it appears as though conditions will be pleasant for the entire southeast from the Mississippi to the Atlantic.  This is certainly good news (though I’m sure it will be room temperature where ever I end up watching this one).  I could go out on a limb and call for rain, against the Almanac’s prediction and I’m half temped too because September 6^th seems to be a slightly wetter day than most days of the year according to the Nashville records, but in week two I’m not about to shake things up.  So we will stick with the pleasant forecast:

The forecast for the September 6^th “Raider Hater” Game is looking for some rather “pleasant” (if I can borrow from the Farmers Almanac) weather.  This is certainly good news for all that will be in attendance.  The high should be in the low 80’s to upper 70’s, I’ll say 81F.  And the low, which probably won’t come into play at all that day, should be in the lower 60’s, I’ll go with 62F.  Anyone tailgating will unfortunately be starting their grill around 1:00 pm which would encompass the time of day which is the hottest, but I don’t think the heat will be that much of an issue.  Based on the Farmer’s Almanac it sounds like High Pressure will be in place so the winds will be minimal, and probably not even noticed.  And I don’t see any rain in the forecast.  The clouds should be few and far between and will also be pretty high up in the sky.  So to recap High 81, Low 62, no rain and hardly any breeze, a few high clouds.

CODE RED- I’m kind of stuck between issuing a code Red or code Yellow sunburn warning.  I think I will play it safe and make it red.  Though the calendar says September it is still technically summer and that sun is still high in the sky.  If you are tailgating, I’d lather up, but if you are only coming out for the game, you need not bother, because it has been scientifically proven that you need to have sun before you can have sun burn.

The game day sunrise for Nashville TN on September 6, 2008 is 6:22 AM.  The sunset should be around 7:06 PM.  Keep in mind those times are CENTRAL, not good old Eastern.    

As for the moon, it will be 24% full, or a waxing crescent.   Just one day shy of it’s 1^st quarter.  It looks as though the moon is excited for this tailgate and game because it will rise at 1:17 pm (just in time for the tailgate) and set at 10:45pm just after the game wraps up.        

THE HURRICANE REPORT:

Well this is just about as in-land as you can get for a Maryland Football game.  So it probably goes without saying that the Hurricane threat will be minimal.  I’m putting it at 1.  I would go zero, but you never say never.

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THE SNOW REPORT:

Closed for the Season.

With the record low for the date being 51, no reason to open shop on the Snow Report.

THE X-FACTOR: 

Just to show you some extremes that could happen and have happened on this particular date in weather history. 

• 1881 - Forest fires in Michigan and Ontario resulted in 'Yellow Day' in the northeastern U.S. Twenty villages in Michigan burned, and a total of 500 persons were killed. Fires caused 2.3 million dollars in losses near Lake Huron. Candles were needed at the noon hour. (David Ludlum)
• 1929 - Iowa's earliest snow of record occurred as a few flakes were noted at 9 AM at Alton. (The Weather Channel)
• 1987 - Thunderstorms produced more than seven inches of rain in Georgia. Four persons drowned, and two others suffered injury, as three couples attempted to cross Mills Stone Creek at Echols Mill in their automobile. Smoke from forest fires in California and Oregon spread across Utah into western Colorado. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 1988 - Unseasonably cool weather prevailed across the north central and northeastern U.S. Thirty cities reported record low temperatures for the date, including Saint Joseph MO with a reading of 38 degrees. A low of 44 degrees at Indianapolis IN was their coolest reading of record for so early in the season. The mercury dipped to 31 degrees at Hibbing MN and Philips WI. (The National Weather Summary)
• 1989 - An early afternoon thunderstorm produced wind gusts to 104 mph at Winterhaven, FL, flipping over four airplanes, and damaging five others. The high winds also damaged a hangar and three other buildings. A cold front produced strong winds and blowing dust in the Northern High Plains, with gusts to 54 mph reported at Buffalo SD. Powerful Hurricane Gabrielle and strong easterly winds combined to create waves up to ten feet high along the southern half of the Atlantic coast. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

***This is a disclaimer to remove all responsibility on myself if this forecast is wrong.  Being that it is very difficult to predict the weather greater than 48 hours in advance, the odds of needing this disclaimer are about 100%.  However I do believe this forecast will be pretty close to what we can actually look to expect.