Flash Flood in Tennessee, August 13, 2001

Name: Flash Flood in Tennessee, August 13, 2001
Start: 2001-08-13T11:00
End: 2001-08-13T17:00
Location: Tennessee

August 13, 2001 · NWS MRX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Prolonged heavy rain on ground that was saturated from flood-producing rains the previous weekend. Creeks, streams and rivers overflowed resulting in numerous roads and bridges flooded or washed out.

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

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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.

Prolonged heavy rain on ground that was saturated from flood-producing rains the previous weekend. Creeks, streams and rivers overflowed resulting in numerous roads and bridges flooded or washed out.

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 Morristown, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 13, 9:40 AM EST, 1 hour 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 13, 9:40 AM EST, 1 hour 20 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
1040 AM EDT MON AUG 13 2001

CONVECTION FROM EARLIER THIS MORNING HAS FURTHER SATURATED THE
GROUND ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHEAST TN...CREATING FLASH
FLOODING PROBLEMS. CURRENT SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS A FRONTAL BOUNDARY
ACROSS THE GREAT TENNESSEE VALLEY WITH MORNING SOUNDINGS INDICATING A
VERY MOIST AIRMASS IN PLACE. PRECIPITABLE WATERS CONTINUE TO BE AT OR
ABOVE 2 INCHES WITH K INDICES IN THE UPPER 30S. THE COMBINATION OF
THIS FRONTAL BOUNDARY...OROGRAPHIC LIFT AND DAYTIME HEATING SHOULD
PRODUCE ADDITIONAL NUMEROUS TSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON...WITH THE
POTENTIAL FOR ADDITIONAL FLASH FLOODING. THUS WILL ISSUE A FLASH
FLOOD WATCH FOR THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS...AND
INCLUDING NORTHEAST TN AND SOUTHWEST VA.

.MRX...
NC...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THIS AFTERNOON FOR CHEROKEE AND CLAY COUNTIES.
TN...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THIS AFTERNOON FOR NORTHEAST TN AND EAST TN
MOUNTAINS.
VA...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THIS AFTERNOON FOR SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA.

DMG

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 13, 8:00 AM EST, 3 hours before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN, TN
900 AM EDT MON AUG 13 2001

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0840 AM    GREENEVILLE               TN   FLASH FLOODS
08/13/01   GREENE                         SEVERAL COUNTY ROADS
                                          FLOODED DUE TO CULVERT AND
                                          SMALL STREAM OVERFLOW
                                          ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PORTION
                                          OF THE COUNTY. REPORTED BY
                                          DISPATCH.

FERRELL

Local storm report, Aug 13, 8:00 AM EST, 3 hours before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN, TN
900 AM EDT MON AUG 13 2001

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0840 AM    10  S GREENEVILLE         TN   FLASH FLOODS
08/13/01   GREENE                         SEVERAL COUNTY ROADS
                                          FLOODED DUE TO CULVERT AND
                                          SMALL STREAM OVERFLOW
                                          ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PORTION
                                          OF THE COUNTY. REPORTED BY
                                          DISPATCH.

FERRELL

Local storm report, Aug 13, 9:28 AM EST, 1 hour 32 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN, TN
1028 AM EDT MON AUG 13 2001

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0937 AM    UNICOI                    TN   FLASH FLOODS
08/13/01   UNICOI                         TWO CREEKS OUT OF THEIR
                                          BANKS AND FLOODING TOWARD
                                          TRAILERS ON LOREN RD.
                                          REPORTED BY SPOTTERS.

0945 AM    ERWIN                     TN   FLASH FLOODS
08/13/01   UNICOI                         FLOODING ON SIMON ST.
                                          WATER BACKING OUT OF
                                          MANHOLES ALL ACROSS TOWN.
                                          REPORTED BY SPOTTERS.

0947 AM    ERWIN                     TN   FLASH FLOODS
08/13/01   UNICOI                         ONE FOOT OF WATER ON
                                          MONROE ST. REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTERS.

1000 AM    UNICOI                    TN   FLASH FLOODS
08/13/01   UNICOI                         MARLENTON RD. CLOSED DUE
                                          TO FLOODING. EVACUATIONS IN
                                          PROGRESS. REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTERS.

1005 AM    UNICOI                    TN   FLASH FLOODS
08/13/01   UNICOI                         HOUSE FLOODINGS AND
                                          EVACUATIONS TAKING PLACE ON
                                          MASS ST. REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTERS

1010 AM    UNICOI                    TN   FLASH FLOODS
08/13/01   UNICOI                         DRY CREEK OVERFLOWING.
                                          UNICOI RD. NOW IMPASSABLE.
                                          REPORTED BY SPOTTERS.

0900 AM    4 NE DEL RIO              TN   FLASH FLOODS
08/13/01   COCKE                          LONG CREEK RD. UNDER
                                          WATER. LIVESTOCK EVACUATED.
                                          REPORTED BY LOCAL RADIO
                                          STATION.

COLE

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:58 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Greene

When: August 13, 11:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Greene County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.175, -82.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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 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: 5268523.