1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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.
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 Mar 31, 2:45 AM CST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 245 AM CST SUN MAR 31 2002 INVERTED SURFACE TROF LAYING ACROSS THE AREA WITH A MOISTURE LADEN ATMOSPHERE THAT IS PRIMED FOR PRODUCING HEAVY RAINFALL IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE TODAY. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL ON ALREADY SATURATED GROUND COULD CAUSE FLOOD PROBLEMS. BIG THREE IN AGREEMENT IN WORKING SURFACE TROF EASTWARD WHILE LOW RACES NORTHEAST INTO SMOKIES BY 18Z. RAIN SHOULD END BY LATE AFTERNOON MOST AREAS EXCEPT FAR EAST AND PLATEAU AS MODELS BRING DRIER AIR INTO REGION RATHER QUICKLY ON BACK SIDE OF SYSTEM. INTRODUCED SHOWERS/TSTMS FOR TUESDAY NIGHT AS NEXT SYSTEM COMES KNOCKING ON THE DOOR. SYSTEM IS PROGRESSIVE SO SHOULD BE A QUICK SHOT AND THEN OUT OF HERE BY EARLY WEDNESDAY. PRELIMINARY NUMBERS: NASHVILLE 55 37 63 41 66 +100 CROSSVILLE 57 35 61 40 65 +200 .BNA...FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL ZONES TODAY. BOYD 01
TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075>080-093>097-011130- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 530 AM CST SUN MAR 31 2002 ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FOR TODAY... A FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR TODAY OVER ALL OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE. OCCASIONAL HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUES OVER THE NORTHWEST HALF OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE...AS AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES OUT OF NORTHEAST TEXAS AND ACROSS THE MIDSTATE LATER TODAY. MOST RAINFALL SHOULD END OVER EASTERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THE RAINFALL WILL LIKELY CAUSE SOME FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS...AND AROUND SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS. HYDROPLANING ON AREA ROADWAYS MAY ALSO BECOME A PROBLEM. THE MIDSTATE SHOULD DRY OUT TONIGHT AND TOMORROW AS DRIER AIR MOVES INTO THE AREA. EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND SPOTTERS SHOULD KEEP ABREAST OF THE WEATHER SITUATION SHOULD ACTIVATION OF EMERGENCY PERSONNEL BECOME NECESSARY. JLM
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
TDOT reported scattered areas in southern Lawrence county had some road flooding. Barricades were up, especially near Loretto.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, March 2002
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: 5285827.