Winter Storm in Tennessee, December 30 to 31, 1997

Name: Winter Storm in Tennessee, December 30 to 31, 1997
Start: 1997-12-30T05:00
End: 1997-12-31T11:00
Location: Tennessee

December 30 to 31, 1997 · NWS MRX · 39 events in 39 counties and zones

A series of fast-moving upper level disturbances caused heavy snow shower activity across East Tennessee. Amounts were generally 2" to 5", with locally higher amounts in higher elevations.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 39 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 39

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS MRX wrote it up.

A series of fast-moving upper level disturbances caused heavy snow shower activity across East Tennessee. Amounts were generally 2" to 5", with locally higher amounts in higher elevations.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

39 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Anderson

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Anderson forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.118, -84.198 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Blount/Smoky Mountains

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Blount/Smoky Mountains forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.687, -83.925 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Bradley

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Bradley forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.154, -84.860 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Campbell

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Campbell forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.404, -84.149 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Claiborne

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Claiborne forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.486, -83.660 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cocke/Smoky Mountains

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Cocke/Smoky Mountains forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.925, -83.121 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cumberland

When: December 30, 4:00 AM CST to December 31, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Cumberland forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.950, -84.998 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, East Polk

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: East Polk forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.120, -84.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Fentress

When: December 30, 4:00 AM CST to December 31, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Fentress forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.381, -84.932 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Grainger

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Grainger forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.276, -83.510 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hamblen

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Hamblen forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.217, -83.267 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hamilton

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Hamilton forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.181, -85.165 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hancock

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Hancock forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.524, -83.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hawkins

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Hawkins forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.441, -82.945 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jefferson

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.051, -83.446 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Johnson

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Johnson forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.455, -81.852 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Knox

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.993, -83.937 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Loudon

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Loudon forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.735, -84.312 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, McMinn

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: McMinn forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.425, -84.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Meigs

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Meigs forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.513, -84.813 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Morgan

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Morgan forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.135, -84.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, North Sevier

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: North Sevier forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.785, -83.524 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northwest Blount

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Northwest Blount forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.687, -83.925 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northwest Carter

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Northwest Carter forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.293, -82.127 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northwest Cocke

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Northwest Cocke forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.925, -83.121 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northwest Greene

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Northwest Greene forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.175, -82.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northwest Monroe

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Northwest Monroe forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.443, -84.253 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Rhea

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Rhea forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.609, -84.924 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Roane

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Roane forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.848, -84.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Scott

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Scott forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.429, -84.503 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sevier/Smoky Mountains

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Sevier/Smoky Mountains forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.785, -83.524 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southeast Carter

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Southeast Carter forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.293, -82.127 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southeast Greene

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Southeast Greene forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.175, -82.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southeast Monroe

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Southeast Monroe forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.443, -84.253 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sullivan

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Sullivan forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.513, -82.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Unicoi

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Unicoi forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.111, -82.432 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Union

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Union forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.288, -83.837 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Washington

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.293, -82.497 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, West Polk

When: December 30, 5:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:00 AM EST
Where: West Polk forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.120, -84.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Tennessee in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Tennessee, December 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5626342, 5626343, 5626344, 5626345, 5626346, 5626347, 5626348, 5626349, 5626350, 5626351, 5626352, 5626353, 5626354, 5626355, 5626356, 5626357, 5626358, 5626359, 5626360, 5626361, 5626362, 5626363, 5626364, 5626365, 5626366, 5626367, 5626368, 5626369, 5626370, 5626371, 5626372, 5626373, 5626374, 5626375, 5626376, 5626377, 5626378, 5626379, 5626380.