Flash Flood, Sevier
- When
- January 7, 9:45 PM EST
- Where
- Sevier County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 35.785, -83.524 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Tennessee, January 7, 1998
Rain on top of snow melt resulted in flash flooding across most of the county. 7 feet, far above the 1 to 1 1/2 foot level.
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
- 0
- 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.
Rain on top of snow melt resulted in flash flooding across most of the county. The west prong of the Little Pigeon River reached 11.7 feet, far above the 1 to 1 1/2 foot level. Rising water forced the temporary evacuation of Park Place Condominiums and some hotel lodgers. All were able to return by midnight. Most of the flooding in Gatlinburg was around Howard Johnson's and a Mexican restaurant, No Way Jose's. Water reached the street in the Baskins Creek intersection and also near Applebee's on the Parkway. The river is flashy, and the water receded quickly.
The radar
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 44 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:45 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Flash Flood in Tennessee, January 7, 1998
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in South Carolina, January 7 to 8, 1998
- Flash Flooding in Alabama, January 7, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Flood in North Carolina, January 7 to 9, 1998
- Ice Storm in New Hampshire, January 7 to 9, 1998
- Flash Flood in Alabama, January 7, 1998
- Flash Flooding in Kentucky, January 7, 1998
- Flood in Louisiana, January 7, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, January 7, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, January 7, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Virginia, January 7 to 8, 1998
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, January 7, 1998
More
Every storm in Tennessee in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5627169.