Flash Flooding and Flood in Tennessee, September 26 to 27, 2002

Name: Flash Flooding and Flood in Tennessee, September 26 to 27, 2002
Start: 2002-09-26T22:00
End: 2002-09-27T04:00
Location: Tennessee

September 26 to 27, 2002 · NWS OHX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

2 flash flood, 1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $50,000
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 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 Sep 26, 6:12 PM CST, 3 hours 48 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 26, 6:12 PM CST, 3 hours 48 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
712 PM CDT THU SEP 26 2002

CENTER OF ISIDORE IS JUST SOUTH OF TUPELO MS AT THIS TIME AND
CONTINUES TO MOVE TO THE NORTH NORTHEAST. LATEST SAT LOOPS INDICATE
THAT THE SPEED IS ON THE INCREASE WHICH COULD LEAD TO HIGHER WIND
SPEEDS THAN ARE CURRENTLY PROJECTED. LOOKS AS THOUGH THE CENTER OF
ISIDORE WILL MOVE ACROSS AREAS NEAR NASHVILLE AROUND 3 AM. SOUNDING
DATA FROM THE UPPER AIR RELEASE ALREADY REVEALS 50 TO 60 KT WINDS
JUST 3 TO 4 THOUSAND FEET AGL.
WILL BE ISSUING A WIND ADVISORY FOR THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU. THIS
ADVISORY WILL BE IN EFFECT THROUGH TONIGHT. AS THE CENTER
APPROACHES...THE ADVISORY MAY BE EXTENDED WEST IF NEEDED.
OTHERWISE...WILL CONTINUE WITH LAKE CAUTIONS WEST OF THE PLATEAU
WITH NO OTHER CHANGES AT THIS TIME.

.BNA...FLOOD WATCH ALL ZONES UNTIL NOON FRIDAY...
    ...WIND ADVISORY FOR THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU THROUGH TONIGHT...
    ...LAKE CAUTION IS ADVISED WEST OF THE PLATEAU TONIGHT...

21

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flash flood, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Benton

When: September 26, 10:00 PM CST to September 27, 12:30 AM CST
Where: Benton County, Countywide
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.070, -88.068 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sheriff's office said 30 roads had to be closed due to high water in the county. Roads affected were mainly between Camden and Big Sandy. A woman was trapped in her car by high water and had to be rescued by boat just north of Camden. She was not hurt. Schools were closed on Friday, Sep. 27 because of water problems on the roads. TDOT stated that a wooden bridge collapsed in the Big Sandy area on Pt. Mason Rd. It was replaced with 3 culverts. Also, a 20 foot section of road on Spring Drive near Camden had to be replaced with gravel. These rains were from the remnants of "Isidore". Some areas in Benton county received as much as 7 inches of rain from this storm.

Flash Flood, Stewart

When: September 26, 11:00 PM CST to September 27, 12:30 AM CST
Where: Stewart County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.501, -87.838 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sheriff's department reported several roads were closed around the county due to high water.

Flood, Montgomery

When: September 27, 12:12 AM CST to 4:00 AM CST
Where: Montgomery County, Clarksville
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.497, -87.383 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A 23 year-old-male ignored high water signs and barricades and attempted to drive through standing water of 8 to 10 feet at the intersection of Ashbury Road and Shanee Terrace. The vehicle was submerged under water, and he drowned. Scuba divers had to retrieve the body from the vehicle.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Flood, Montgomery	2002-09-27	23	Male	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct

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.
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

Every storm in Tennessee in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Tennessee, September 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: 5320601, 5320693, 5320692.