Flash Flood in Tennessee, January 7, 1998

Name: Flash Flood in Tennessee, January 7, 1998
Start: 1998-01-07T21:35
End: 1998-01-07T21:35
Location: Tennessee

January 7, 1998 · NWS MRX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Heavy rain over several hours triggered flash flooding. The heaviest rain fell between 1900 EST, January 7 and 0100 EST, January 8, where two to five inches fell during the period.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 7
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $20 million
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.

Heavy rain over several hours triggered flash flooding. The heaviest rain fell between 1900 EST, January 7 and 0100 EST, January 8, where two to five inches fell during the period. Nearly 8 inches of rain fell in 24 hours in a rain gage in the headwaters of the Doe River, enabling the Doe River at Elizabethton, TN to reach its record flood stage of 10.92 feet. Approximately one foot of snow in the mountains had melted the previous day, adding to runoff problems. Several tributaries of the Doe River flooded and caused damage. The water system in Roan Mountain was heavily damaged. Twelve bridges along with several sections of roadway were rendered unusable. Over two hundred mobile homes and more than a dozen houses were destroyed. Nearly two hundred other houses and buildings, and six businesses were severely damaged.

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 115 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:33 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Carter

When: January 7, 9:35 PM EST
Where: Carter County, Countywide
Deaths: 7 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $20 million
Coordinates: 36.293, -82.127 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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, Carter	1998-01-08	37	Male	In Water	Direct
Flash Flood, Carter	1998-01-08	65	Female	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct
Flash Flood, Carter	1998-01-08	59	Male	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct
Flash Flood, Carter	1998-01-08	49	Female	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct
Flash Flood, Carter	1998-01-08	12	Female	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct
Flash Flood, Carter	1998-01-08	73	Male	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct
Flash Flood, Carter	1998-01-08	33	Female	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	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

Every storm in Tennessee in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Tennessee, January 1998

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5627163.