Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Tennessee, August 11 to 12, 2001

Name: Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Tennessee, August 11 to 12, 2001
Start: 2001-08-11T13:30
End: 2001-08-12T20:00
Location: Tennessee

August 11 to 12, 2001 · NWS OHX · 10 events in 7 counties and zones

9 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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: 10

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 forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Nashville, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 11, 1:01 PM CST, 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 11, 1:01 PM CST, 29 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
201 PM CDT SAT AUG 11 2001

WELL...CONVECTION FROM KY IS FINALLY TAKING THE SRN TURN OVER THE
LAND BETWEEN THE LAKES REGION WHILE AFTERNOON HEATING IS PRODUCING
NEW CONVECTION ACROSS THE REGION...MOST NOTABLY THE ERN PLATEAU. WIDE
RANGE OF TEMPS ENCOMPASS THE AREA...DUE TO SPORADIC THICK CLOUD COVER
NEXT TO MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES. COLD FRONT IS ELONGATED FROM LEX-PAH-FSM-
SPS. THE OTHER 2 APPARENT BOUNDARIES ARE ACROSS ERN AL (ANB-AUO-
DHN) AND OVER ERN MS (TUP-MEI-GPT).

LATEST 88D COMPOSTIVE REFLECTIVITY LOOP HAS LARGE AREA OF TSRA OVER
WRN KY DOWN TO HOUSTON COUNTY...WITH TOPS TO 45K. MOVEMENT OF THE KY
STORMS IS TO THE E WHILE THE LAND BETWEEN THE LAKES STORMS ARE
MOVING S.

NONE OF MIDDLE TN AWOS STATIONS ARE REPORTING...BUT A WIDE RANGE OF
TEMPS EXIST DUE TO CLOUDINESS AND CONVECTION. AT NOON NASHVILLE HAD
CLIMBED TO 85 (CONVECTIVE TEMP) WHILE CSV WAS 78.  ONLY 71 AT EVV
WITH A THUNDERSTORM.

THE COMBINATION OF PWS AROUND 2 INCHES...LOW FLASH FLOOD
GUIDANCE AND WEAK MID LEVEL FLOW...BRINGS THE POSSIBILITY OF A
FEW FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS. WE ARE MONITORING RADAR TRENDS.

SYNOPTICALLY...THE BIGGEST FEATURE IS AN AMPLIFYING MID AND UPPER
LEVEL RIDGE THAT EXTENDS FROM THE FOUR CORNERS REGION INTO THE
CANADIAN ROCKIES. THIS WILL KEEP A TROUGH ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES INTO
THE APPALACHIANS.  THIS WILL ALSO HELP PUSH THE PESKY FRONT THROUGH
ALL OF MIDDLE TN BY MONDAY MORNING. THIS WILL BRING IN SOME
DRIER AIR...WITH DEW POINTS IN THE MID 60S.

FORECAST PROBLEM OF THE PERIOD...POPS...

1ST OF ALL...WILL LOOK AT THE 88D AT PRESS TIME TO MAKE THE FINAL
CALL WHAT TO DO WITH POPS...BUT PLAN ON LIKELY OR CATEGORICAL POPS
THIS EVENING ACROSS THE PLATEAU AND ACROSS THE TN RIVER. ALL 3
MODELS BLEW THE 12Z QPF INITIALIZATION. OTHERWISE THE MODELS LOOK
FAIRLY TYPICAL FOR MID SUMMER. THE FRH DATA IS MORE CLEAR WITH THE
OPTIMUM TIMES THIS EVENING AND ALSO ON SUNDAY.

SECONDLY...WITH THE 1025 MB HIGH SLIDING BEHIND ANOTHER COOL FRONT
OUT OF MANITOBA AND SASKATCHEWAN...THE AREAL COVERAGE OF PRECIP OVER
THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS SHOULD BE COMING TO AN END. HAVING SAID
THIS...THE CWA WILL BE UNDER NW FLOW THROUGHOUT THE WEEK. WILL LET
THE NEXT COUPLE OF SHIFTS LOOK AT THE EXTENDED FURTHER.  FOR NOW A
FAIRLY DRY EXTENDED.

COORDINATED WITH SDF...JKL AND PAH

PRELIMINARY NUMBERS FOR COORDINATION PURPOSES ONLY...

BNA WB 073/086 071/088  5531
CSV WB 070/082 067/085  7631

.BNA...NONE
GORDON

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Wayne

When: August 11, 1:30 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Wayne County, Collinwood
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 35.240, -87.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Street flooding along low lying areas.

Thunderstorm Wind, Overton

When: August 11, 3:00 PM CST
Where: Overton County, Central Portion
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.333, -85.300

Trees were down from Allons to Livingston. The Hidden Valley Golf Course, near Livingston, had 20 to 25 trees blown down, including 7 or 8 big pine trees. These trees were planted 35 years ago.

Flash Flood, Franklin

When: August 12, 8:45 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Franklin County, Winchester
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.155, -86.092 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Water over at highway 130 by Skips Grill.

Flash Flood, Davidson

When: August 12, 1:15 PM CST to 3:30 PM CST
Where: Davidson County, 6 mi S of Nashville
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.171, -86.777 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

2 roads were covered with water and were impassable.

Flash Flood, Davidson

When: August 12, 1:15 PM CST to 3:30 PM CST
Where: Davidson County, 5 mi SE of Nashville
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.171, -86.777 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

House flooding at the intersection of Hillsboro Road and the eastern part of Overhill Drive. Standing water of about 1/2 to one foot in these homes.

Flash Flood, Davidson

When: August 12, 1:45 PM CST to 3:30 PM CST
Where: Davidson County, 6 mi SW of Nashville
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.171, -86.777 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flooding reported along Brown's Creek near Lipscomb University.

Flash Flood, Davidson

When: August 12, 1:55 PM CST to 3:30 PM CST
Where: Davidson County, 6 mi SW of Nashville
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.171, -86.777 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Street flooding off Harding Pl.

Flash Flood, Maury

When: August 12, 5:00 PM CST to 6:30 PM CST
Where: Maury County, Culleoka
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.617, -87.077 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Water was across several roads between McCains and Culleoka. The south fork of Fountain Creek overflowed Sunday night and engulfed several portions of Campbell Station Rd. At one point, an elderly woman's home was surrounded by water.

Flash Flood, Marshall

When: August 12, 5:00 PM CST to 6:45 PM CST
Where: Marshall County, Cornersville
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.469, -86.765 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Water was over a few roads between Lewsiburg and Cornersville, and from Lewsiburg and Culleoka.

Flash Flood, Lincoln

When: August 12, 6:09 PM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where: Lincoln County, Fayetteville
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 35.141, -86.589 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

TEMA reported flash flooding in Lincoln county, starting at Fayetteville.

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.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Tennessee in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Tennessee, August 2001

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: 5264953, 5265042, 5264952, 5264948, 5264949, 5264950, 5264951, 5264954, 5264955, 5264956.