Flash Flooding in Virginia, March 17 to 18, 2002

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

March 17 to 18, 2002 · NWS MRX · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Widespread flooding occurred across most of extreme Southwest Virginia. Rainfall totals between five and eight inches were reported in 36 hours.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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 extreme Southwest Virginia. Rainfall totals between five and eight inches were reported in 36 hours. Total damage estimates were 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, 3:10 PM EST, 5 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 17, 3:10 PM EST, 5 hours 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
310 PM EST SUN MAR 17 2002

...MAIN CONCERN CONTINUES TO BE FLASH FLOODING FOR TONIGHT...

ALTHOUGH ONE CAN MAKE A GOOD ARGUMENT FOR THE WARM FRONT HAVING LIFTED
N TO NEAR THE KY/TN AND TN/VA STATE LINES...RADARS CONTINUE TO SHOW A
MAIN BAND OF CONVECTION FROM THE CENTRAL PLATEAU ACROSS THE CENTRAL
VALLEY TO THE NRN SMOKIES.  LATEST SATELLITE AND RADAR PICS DO INDICATE
A NORTHWARD AREAL MOVEMENT OF THIS BAND.  HOWEVER...ATMOSPHERE HAS BECOME
VERY UNSTABLE OVER SE TN INTO AL AND GA...WHERE TEMPS ARE IN THE 75-85
DEGREE RANGE AND DEWPTS ARE IN THE MID 60S.  THUS...THIS AREA IS PRIMED
FOR AN INCREASE IN PCPN AS NEXT SHORTWAVE APPROACHES THIS EVENING.
CONSIDERING ALL OF THE ABOVE...NEAR 100% POPS SEEM A WISE CHOICE FOR
TONIGHT.  WILL KEEP FFA GOING...AND MENTION RAIN HEAVY AT TIMES.  MANY
CREEKS AND STREAMS REMAIN AT BANKFULL FROM EARLIER RAINS AND RUNOFF.

MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT...EXPECT WIDESPREAD SHRA/TSRA EARLY MONDAY...
THEN POSSIBLY A DECREASE IN COVERAGE...CERTAINLY BY MONDAY NIGHT.
HOWEVER...GIVEN SUCH HIGH MOISTURE CONTENT AND TROPICAL CONNECTION...
DID NOT UNDERCUT MOS POPS VERY MUCH FOR MONDAY NIGHT.

TUESDAY INTO TUESDAY NIGHT...STRONGER UPSTREAM SHORTWAVE TROUGH NOW
LOOKS TO BE SLOWER AND DEEPER...SO A DECENT BREAK IN THE RAIN MAY OCCUR
ON TUESDAY.  THIS WOULD FOCUS BRUNT OF CONVECTION FOR TUESDAY NIGHT
...POSSIBLY INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY.  THUS...LOWERED POPS SLIGHTLY FOR
TUESDAY...AND ALSO ALLOWED FOR A DECREASE IN CLOUDS WHICH FAVORED THE
WARMER MOS HIGHS ON TUESDAY.

OTHERWISE...ISC GRIDS FOR ALL OF SHORT TERM AND MUCH OF EXTENDED HAVE
ALREADY BEEN SENT.  MY PRELIMINARY TEMPS/POPS FOLLOW FOR
COORDINATION:

CHA  59/71/54/76/56   100/70/50/40/70
TYS  57/68/52/73/53   100/80/50/40/70
TRI  53/64/48/68/50   100/80/50/40/70
OQT  56/65/50/71/51   100/80/50/40/70

.MRX...
NC...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES NCZ060>061.

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

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

TG

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 17, 5:39 PM EST, 3 hours 6 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN, TN
539 PM EST SUN MAR 17 2002

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

0530 PM    DEL RIO                   TN   FLASH FLOODS
03/17/02   COCKE                          5 YEAR OLD BOY SWEPT OFF
                                          FEET BUT RECOVERED NEAR DEL
                                          RIO. NUMEROUS ROAD CLOSURES
                                          OR OTHER FLOODING
                                          ESPECIALLY AROUND DEL RIO
                                          AND COSBY. REPORTED BY EMA.

0530 PM    JEFFERSON CITY            TN   FLASH FLOODS
03/17/02   JEFFERSON                      HIGHWAY 411 FLOODED.
                                          SEVERAL OTHERS ROADS IN
                                          RURAL AREAS FLOODED.
                                          REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT.

0530 PM    KNOXVILLE                 TN   FLASH FLOODS
03/17/02   KNOX                           LOTS OF STREET/ROAD
                                          FLOODING AND SMALL STREAMS
                                          OUT OF BANKS. REPORTED BY
                                          LAW ENFORCEMENT.

0530 PM    SEVIERVILLE               TN   FLASH FLOODS
03/17/02   SEVIER                         BRIDGE WASHED OUT IN WEST
                                          PART OF COUNTY. STREET/ROAD
                                          FLOODING. REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT.

GM

The radar

The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 92 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:45 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Wise

When: March 17, 8:45 PM EST to March 18, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Wise County, Countywide
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.975, -82.621 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Lee

When: March 17, 11:25 PM EST to March 18, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Lee County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.705, -83.128 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Russell

When: March 17, 11:25 PM EST to March 18, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Russell County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.934, -82.096 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Washington

When: March 17, 11:25 PM EST to March 18, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Washington County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.725, -81.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Scott

When: March 17, 11:35 PM EST to March 18, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Scott County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.714, -82.603 (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 Virginia in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Virginia, 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: 5280175, 5280171, 5280172, 5280174, 5280173.