Flash Flood, Grainger
- When
- July 1, 5:00 AM EST
- Where
- Grainger County, Buffalo Spgs
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 36.276, -83.510 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Tennessee, July 1, 1997
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.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
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. A woman in a car behind him was rescued by a second man as she was swept by the current under her car while attempting to abandon it.
The radar
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 15 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:02 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, Grainger | 1997-07-01 | 40 | Male | In Water | Direct |
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Minnesota, July 1, 1997
- Tornadoes and Hail in North Dakota, July 1 to 25, 1997
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, July 1, 1997
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in North Dakota, July 1, 1997
- Drought in Maryland, July 1 to 31, 1997
- Drought in West Virginia, July 1 to 31, 1997
- Drought in Virginia, July 1 to 31, 1997
- Heavy Rain in North Carolina, July 1, 1997
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Montana, July 1 to 23, 1997
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 1, 1997
- Hail in Kansas, July 1, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 1 to 2, 1997
More
Every storm in Tennessee in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, July 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: 5602894.