Nashville International Airport
Map of Nashville
Brief History
Nashville International Airport first opened in June 1937 with the name Berry Field in honor of Colonel Harry S. Berry. Colonel Berry was the state administrator of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which was the government organization responsible for the construction of the airport (22)(23). When first built, Berry Field consisted of a terminal building, two hangers, a 4,000 feet concrete runway, and a flashing beacon on top of a 340-acre site located along what is now Murfreesboro Road (22)(23). The airport’s three-letter identifier, BNA, stands for Berry Field Nashville (23).
Source: USA Today
During World War II, the airport became the military base for the 4th Ferrying Command, which saw the airport increase in size to 1,500 acres (23). The rapid growth of air transportation during the 1950s and 1960s led to the creation of a new terminal and crosswind runway, along with an expansion to the existing runway (23). By 1977, Berry Field had increased to 3,300 acres with 3 runways and a renovated terminal (23). The expansion of the airport continued during the 1980s, with the opening of the JWN airport for small planes and the addition of a new terminal (23). In 1988, the airport's name, Berry Field, was replaced by Nashville International Airport (23).
Source: The Tennessean
Nashville International Airport had other major terminal renovations in 2012, the same year that marked the 75th anniversary of the airport's opening (22). As of 2015, over 11 million passengers travel through the airport (24). The airport has daily arriving and departing flights to other parts of the United States, Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, and more recently England (22)(25).
Climatological Data Station
Since January 1st, 1948, Nashville International Airport has served as a station for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The station has been collecting data on different meteorological parameters including temperature and precipitation. For instance, data of the temperature from nearly the last 21 years appear to show a trend of potentially increasing annual averages for the maximum, average, and minimum temperatures (Figure 1). The interval from 2015-2021 appears to have a higher average temperature than the previous 14 years (2001-2014). This potential increase is due to human activities occurring worldwide, which have already been linked to climate change. Even though the increase between those two intervals is small, an average increase of 1℉ to 2℉ can still be meaningful and could give us an idea of what the climate of Nashville will be like in the future.
Figure 1. Average annual maximum, average, and minimum temperatures from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) station at Nashville International Airport for the last 22 years (2000-2021).
It is difficult to assess exactly how rising temperatures may be affecting the climate and meteorological events, but it is still possible to predict some of those climate events (26). For instance, the increase in temperature, like the ones observed in Figure 1, could increase the probability of more hot days and nights. This increase in temperature could also increase the chances of more extreme droughts while possibly leading to more water evaporating and an increased likelihood of rainfall and snowfall (26). In addition to droughts and extra rainfall, Tennessee could be affected more by tornadoes in the future as, in comparison to 1957-1983, Central Tennessee from 1984-2013 had the greatest increase in winter tornadoes with 56 and the greatest increase in spring tornadoes with 105 (27). That same study also found that there was an increase of significant (big or notable) winter tornadoes across Tennessee, and an increase of autumn tornadoes in Western Tennessee. Yet, they were also not able to connect their findings to the effects of climate change.