1,333 first-hand accounts of flood events in Tennessee, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
Thunderstorms with large hail spread northward across East Tennessee during the early morning hours of March 27, reaching southwest Virginia by late morning. These storms were associated with a warm front, which later stalled across northeast Tennessee.
Read the full account →An upper level disturbance slowly approached the Mid-South during the evening of April 30th, 2010 as a cold front became stationary to the west. This pattern remained in place through the evening hours of May 2nd, 2010.
Read the full account →A frontal boundary setup across Western and Middle Tennessee late Friday night (April 30), and remained through the weekend. A persistent southerly flow fed moisture into the area and precipitable water values rose to almost 2 inches, based on data from KOHX upper air…
Read the full account →A frontal boundary setup across Western and Middle Tennessee late Friday night (April 30), and remained through the weekend. A persistent southerly flow fed moisture into the area and precipitable water values rose to almost 2 inches, based on data from KOHX upper air…
Read the full account →A weak cold front moving southward out of Kentucky spawned numerous showers and thunderstorms throughout Middle Tennessee from the late evening hours on June 4 and continuing throughout the day on June 5. Many reports of damaging winds were received with these storms.
Read the full account →A weak upper low helped advect near record moisture into Tennessee, where a boundary and classic heavy rain profiles combined to produce extreme rainfall rates over portions of Chattanooga, leading to numerous water rescues, a few evacuations, flooded interstate and local roads,…
Read the full account →Excessive rainfall during the first few days of March along with rivers that were already high caused prolonged flooding along the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers as well as their tributaries. Along the Mississippi, the river reached levels that had not been seen since 1937.
Read the full account →A frontal boundary setup across Western and Middle Tennessee late Friday night (April 30), and remained through the weekend. A persistent southerly flow fed moisture into the area and precipitable water values rose to almost 2 inches, based on data from KOHX upper air…
Read the full account →A widespread severe weather event impacted Middle Tennessee beginning in the early morning hours of May 8, 2024, and continued through the early morning hours of May 9th.
Read the full account →A cold front approached the Mid-South on Independence Day 2009. Showers and thunderstorms developed out ahead of the front during the late afternoon and early evening hours on the 4th. The storms continued into the morning hours of July 5th before dissipating.
Read the full account →The deadliest flash flood to ever affect Middle Tennessee, and one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the state, struck the region on Saturday, August 21, 2021.
Read the full account →An historic flash flooding event affected the central third of Middle Tennessee from the early morning hours on March 27 through the day into the early morning hours on March 28.
Read the full account →Rainfall of between 5 and 11 inches fell on West Tennessee between November 26 and November 29. This produced widespread flooding across the region. Numerous roads were closed. Numerous homes and businesses flooded with as much as 6' of water in some houses.
Read the full account →Favorable atmospheric conditions resulted in a deadly tornado outbreak across east Tennessee on the 27th. The thunderstorms produced more than 50 tornadoes across the east Tennessee area with 32 deaths and more than 200 injured.
Read the full account →A warm front lifted north over the Midsouth during the late evening hours of April 3, 2008. Showers and thunderstorms developed over the region in association with the front during the late evening hours which continued into the early morning hours on April 4, 2008.
Read the full account →A prolonged convective event with deep moist southerly flow in an unstable environment with strong wind shear generated supercell thunderstorms across Southeast Tennessee and Southwest North Carolina.
Read the full account →17 counties in Tennessee requested federal assistance due to the flooding. The counties are: Anderson, Bedford, Cannon, Coffee, Cumberland, Fentress, Giles, Hardin, Jackson, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, McNairy, Maury, Putnam, Warren and Wayne.Doppler radar estimated as much as 6…
Read the full account →Male, age 40, killed in flash flood on Buffalo Creek. County Sheriff reports that the man's car had apparently become stalled in deep running water and he was swept into the creek while attempting to abandon his car.
Read the full account →17 counties in Tennessee requested federal assistance due to the flooding. The counties are: Anderson, Bedford, Cannon, Coffee, Cumberland, Fentress, Giles, Hardin, Jackson, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, McNairy, Maury, Putnam, Warren and Wayne.Doppler radar estimated as much as 6…
Read the full account →A very warm, moist, and unstable airmass was in place across the Mid-South ahead of an approaching cold front. Dewpoints ranged from 75 to 80 degrees across the area. As the cold front sagged south, an upper-level disturbance pushed into the region, causing an increase in shear.
Read the full account →An upper-level trough crossed the Four Corners region and dipped into northern Mexico on February 14, 2025. In response, deep southwesterly flow set up over the Lower Mississippi Valley and advected Gulf moisture poleward.
Read the full account →Tropical Storm Helene caps off a several day heavy rainfall event in association with a stalled closed upper low that drew a stream of tropical moisture into the area on the 25th and 26th.
Read the full account →A weak upper low helped advect near record moisture into Tennessee, where a boundary and classic heavy rain profiles combined to produce extreme rainfall rates over portions of Chattanooga, leading to numerous water rescues, a few evacuations, flooded interstate and local roads,…
Read the full account →A major severe weather and flooding event unfolded across Middle Tennessee on February 15-16, 2025. As well above average moisture spread into the area, this helped set the stage for very heavy rainfall across Middle Tennessee.
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