Flash Flooding in Tennessee, March 17 to 18, 2002

Name: Flash Flooding in Tennessee, March 17 to 18, 2002
Start: 2002-03-17T08:45
End: 2002-03-18T20:00
Location: Tennessee

March 17 to 18, 2002 · NWS MRX · 20 events in 20 counties and zones

Widespread flooding occurred across most of East Tennessee. Rainfall totals between five and eight inches were reported in 36 hours.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 20 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: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 20

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.

Widespread flooding occurred across most of East Tennessee. Rainfall totals between five and eight inches were reported in 36 hours. Total damage estimates were calculated to be over 5 million dollars.

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 Mar 17, 3:27 AM EST, 5 hours 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 17, 3:27 AM EST, 5 hours 18 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
327 AM EST SUN MAR 17 2002

CONVECTIVE COMPLEX OVER WEST AND MIDDLE TN ASSOCIATED WITH LOW LEVEL
JET BEGINNING TO SHIFT EAST INTO MY FORECAST AREA. EXPECT MOST OF IT
WILL MOVE OUT THIS MORNING AS JET MOVES OFF TO THE NORTHEAST.
ACTIVITY THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE MORE SCATTERED AND LIGHT. WILL GO
LIKELY POPS EVERYWHERE. TONIGHT INGREDIENTS COMING TOGETHER FOR A
HEAVY RAIN EVENT. VERY DEEP/STRONG LIFT AND CONVERGENCE AS SHORTWAVE
AND WEAK SURFACE REFLECTION MOVE ACROSS SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS.
PRECIP WATER VALUES AROUND 1.5. ETA FOUS GIVES 1.94 OVERNIGHT AND
QPFERD PLACES MY FORECAST AREA DIRECTLY UNDER AN AREA WHERE RAINFALL
IS EXPECTED TO EXCEED FLASH FLOOD GUIDANCE. ONE HOUR FLASH FLOOD
GUIDANCE FOR MY AREA IS AROUND 1-1.5 FOR ONE HOUR AND 1.7-2.2 FOR
THREE HOURS. AFTER COORDINATING WITH JKL AND OHX WILL ISSUED FLASH
FLOOD WATCH FOR THE ENTIRE AREA TONIGHT. FRONT WILL MOVE JUST TO THE
SOUTH ON MONDAY. WIDESPREAD RAIN WILL BE ONGOING AT THE START OF THE
PERIOD BUT SHOULD TAPER OFF A BIT AS FRONT MOVES SOUTH. WILL ASSIGN
LIKELY POPS THROUGHOUT.

GUIDANCE TEMPS CLOSE AND LOOK REASONABLE.

THANKS FOR THE COORDINATION OHX...JKL AND RLX.

CHA   72  59  70  54 /  70 100  60  50
TYS   68  56  68  53 /  70 100  60  50
TRI   65  52  64  49 /  70 100  60  50
OQT   68  56  68  53 /  70 100  60  50

.MRX...
NC...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR SUNDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES NCZ060>061.

TN...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR SUNDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES TNZ012>018...
TNZ035>047...TNZ067>074...TNZ081>087...TNZ098>102.

VA...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR SUNDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES VAZ001>002...
VAZ005>006...VAZ008.

AUSTIN

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 71 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 13:45 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

20 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Blount

When: March 17, 8:45 AM EST to March 18, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Blount County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.687, -83.925 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Knox

When: March 17, 8:52 AM EST to March 18, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Knox County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.993, -83.937 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Loudon

When: March 17, 8:57 AM EST to March 18, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Loudon County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.735, -84.312 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Meigs

When: March 17, 9:01 AM EST to March 18, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Meigs County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.513, -84.813 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Roane

When: March 17, 9:03 AM EST to March 18, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Roane County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.848, -84.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Sevier

When: March 17, 9:06 AM EST to March 18, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Sevier County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.785, -83.524 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Bledsoe

When: March 17, 9:30 AM CST to March 18, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Bledsoe County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.596, -85.205 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Rhea

When: March 17, 10:40 AM EST to March 18, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Rhea County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.609, -84.924 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Cocke

When: March 17, 5:30 PM EST to March 18, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Cocke County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.925, -83.121 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Jefferson

When: March 17, 5:30 PM EST to March 18, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Jefferson County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.051, -83.446 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Greene

When: March 18, 7:30 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Greene County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.175, -82.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Hawkins

When: March 18, 7:45 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Hawkins County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.441, -82.945 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Sequatchie

When: March 18, 7:00 AM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where: Sequatchie County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.371, -85.411 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Anderson

When: March 18, 8:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Anderson County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.118, -84.198 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, McMinn

When: March 18, 8:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: McMinn County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.425, -84.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Monroe

When: March 18, 8:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Monroe County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.443, -84.253 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Morgan

When: March 18, 8:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Morgan County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.135, -84.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Grainger

When: March 18, 8:15 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Grainger County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.276, -83.510 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Hamblen

When: March 18, 8:15 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Hamblen County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.217, -83.267 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Washington

When: March 18, 8:45 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Washington County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.293, -82.497 (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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Tennessee, March 2002

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: 5281998, 5282005, 5282006, 5282008, 5280167, 5280169, 5281997, 5282011, 5281999, 5282004, 5282001, 5282003, 5280168, 5281996, 5282007, 5282009, 5282010, 5282000, 5282002, 5280170.