4 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Bledsoe County, Tennessee. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from severe thunderstorms and convective weather systems dominates the flood profile of Bledsoe County. Over the last 30 years, recorded events include 34 flash floods, 12 general floods, and 2 tropical storm events.
Recent weather patterns illustrate these localized hazards. For example, a stalled front produced heavy rainfall and flooding on March 28, 2021, while remnants of tropical cyclone Nicholas brought heavy rains to the southern Plateau on September 18, 2021. Additional flash flooding occurred on September 4, 2022, due to convection along a northward-moving warm front, and severe thunderstorms brought further flash flooding on May 8, 2024.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties vulnerable to sudden, intense rainfall runoff and localized flash flooding, particularly during the spring and summer storm seasons.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
2 NOAA storm reports from Bledsoe County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornado | Aug 7, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornado | Mar 1, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 19, 2019 |
| Smith Mountain Fire Complex | Nov 11, 2016 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Feb 15, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 5, 2014 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
48 since 1996: 34 flash floods and 12 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 8, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 4, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 28, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 18, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 23, 2019 | $850,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 28, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 8, 2024. A cutoff low over the North Plains, coupled with intense winds aloft and a cold front at the surface, helped spawn multiple rounds of severe thunderstorms that produced hail, flash flooding, and damaging winds to East Tennessee.
Flash Flood · Sep 4, 2022. A warm front moving northward into the southern Cumberland Plateau produced convection that caused isolated flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Mar 28, 2021. 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. This stalled front was the focus of additional thunderstorms that produced damaging wind gusts and flooding in the evening of March 27 and into March 28.
Flash Flood · Sep 18, 2021. Remnants of tropical cyclone Nicholas over Louisiana promoted a humid air mass and diurnal convection that produced heavy rains over and near the southern Plateau.
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Bledsoe County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.