Tennessee, 1997

Flooding in Tennessee, May 31, 1997

May 31, 1997 · NWS MRX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Minor street and highway flooding throughout the counties.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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.

Minor street and highway flooding throughout the counties.

The radar

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

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Event by event

3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Rhea

When
May 31, 11:15 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Rhea County, Countywide
Coordinates
35.609, -84.924 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Bradley

When
May 31, 11:15 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Bradley County, Countywide
Coordinates
35.154, -84.860 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, McMinn

When
May 31, 11:15 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
McMinn County, Countywide
Coordinates
35.425, -84.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Tennessee in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, May 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: 5592152, 5592153, 5592154.