Tennessee, 2002

Flooding in Tennessee, May 14 to 24, 2002

May 14 to 24, 2002 · NWS MEG · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Heavy rains in the Midwest caused the Mississippi River and its tributaries to rise above flood stage. Across northwest Tennessee, several homes and trailers were flooded forcing at least 12 families to evacuate their homes.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
$56,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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 MEG wrote it up.

Heavy rains in the Midwest caused the Mississippi River and its tributaries to rise above flood stage. Across northwest Tennessee, several homes and trailers were flooded forcing at least 12 families to evacuate their homes.

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 Memphis, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 14, 1:51 AM CST, 4 hours 9 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 14, 1:51 AM CST, 4 hours 9 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
251 AM CDT TUE MAY 14 2002

DEAMPLIFICATION OF THE UPPER PATTERN WILL TAKE PLACE THIS FORECAST
PERIOD AS A LOW OVER THE GREAT LAKES LIFTS NORTHEASTWARD TO THE
CANADIAN MARITIMES AND A RIDGE IN THE WEST FLATTENS OUT AS IT MOVES
TO THE PLAINS. AT THE SURFACE A HIGH PRESSURE AREA OVER THE CENTRAL
STATES WILL SHIFT EASTWARD TO THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY BY TONIGHT THEN
TO THE SOUTHEASTERN STATES BY WEDNESDAY MORNING AND OFF THE EAST
COAST BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THE RESULT WILL BE DRY WEATHER OVER THE MID
SOUTH WITH COOLER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES TODAY AND TONIGHT FOLLOWED
BY A WARMING TREND WEDNESDAY.

.MEG...NONE.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Lake

When
May 14, 6:00 AM CST to May 24, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Lake forecast zone
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
36.335, -89.493 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Dyer

When
May 14, 6:00 AM CST to May 24, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Dyer forecast zone
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
36.059, -89.414 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Lauderdale

When
May 14, 6:00 AM CST to May 24, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Lauderdale forecast zone
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.761, -89.631 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Tennessee in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, May 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: 5298599, 5298600, 5298601.