WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Wilson County - Tennessee State Fair in Lebanon kicked off Thursday.
They regularly welcome hundreds of thousands to the fairgrounds each year, which can be a lot of fun for the family as long as you know how to beat the heat.
"It is just so hot," said one fair organizer Thursday.
"It was hot. Period," agreed a fair attendee.
It's the hottest day 1 of the state fair in years. NewsChannel 5 meteorologist Katie Melvin reports Thursday's 90 degrees tops 85 degrees in 2022 and 80 degrees in 2023.
However, fair organizers say keep calm: they have fans installed, water available, and air conditioning blasting. They add police, the sheriff's office, fire, and county emergency services are also all present in case of any heat emergencies.
"Well the thing about Tennessee weather. If you don't like today's weather, wait 24 hours, it'll be different," attendee Jerry Smyth laughed.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at nikki.hauser@newschannel5.com.

This is a story I immediately went home and showed my boys - young athletes with big dreams. The Vanderbilt football team's success has stolen the spotlight - what I love about Steve Layman's story is he reveals the individual hardships it took to get there. As Clark Lea says, "we all have scuff marks." This team proves perseverance pays off!
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