A strong cold front that had moved in Middle Tennessee on May 1st moved north as a warm front during the afternoon hours near the Tennessee/Kentucky Border, and in association with a strong low pressure system that had developed across central Arkansas, resulted in flash flooding across several counties.
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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 episode as NWS OHX wrote it up.
A strong cold front that had moved in Middle Tennessee on May 1st moved north as a warm front during the afternoon hours near the Tennessee/Kentucky Border, and in association with a strong low pressure system that had developed across central Arkansas, resulted in flash flooding across several counties.
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 May 1, 8:42 PM CST, 5 hours 4 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 942 PM CDT FRI MAY 1 2009 .UPDATE... LOOKS LIKE A LULL IN CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY...SO WILL LOWER POPS FOR REMAINDER OF NIGHT...KEEPING A WATCHFUL EYE ON DEVELOPMENTS OUT W. && 17/MAG .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 350 PM CDT FRI MAY 1 2009/ DISCUSSION... SFC HIGH PRES IN THE CNTL PLAINS WL CONTINUE TO PUSH A COLD FRONT INTO MID TN TONIGHT. FRONT WL PULL UP STATIONARY. PERIODS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ON TAP TONIGHT. SFC HIGH PRES MOVES ACR THE OH VLY SAT WITH PERIODS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SOUTH ALONG STATIONARY FRONT. MODELS AGREEMENT WITH INVERTED TROUGHING ALONG STALLED FRONT SAT NIGHT-SUN ACR MID TN. EXCESSIVE RAINFALL LIKELY SAT NIGHT-SUN. WIDESPREAD RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF THREE TO SIX INCHES EXPECTED. HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE IF LATER MODELS HOLD THIS TREND. CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR FLASH FLOODING SAT NIGHT-SUN. FLASH FLOOD OR HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK (MEMESFOHX) SENT TO ADDRESS THIS CONCERN. FLASH FLOOD WATCH MAY BE REQUIRED. PCPN CHANCE DECREASES MON AS SYS MOVES EAST. DRY PERIOD MON EVENING INTO WED MORNING...BEFORE NEXT FRONTAL SYSTEM MOVES IN WED NIGHT. && .OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT TONIGHT FOR TNZ005>011- 022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 544 PM CDT FRI MAY 1 2009 TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-021030- STEWART-MONTGOMERY-ROBERTSON-SUMNER-MACON-CLAY-PICKETT-BENTON- HOUSTON-HUMPHREYS-DICKSON-CHEATHAM-DAVIDSON-WILSON-TROUSDALE- SMITH-JACKSON-PUTNAM-OVERTON-FENTRESS-PERRY-HICKMAN-LEWIS- WILLIAMSON-MAURY-MARSHALL-RUTHERFORD-CANNON-DEKALB-WHITE- CUMBERLAND-BEDFORD-COFFEE-WARREN-GRUNDY-VAN BUREN-WAYNE-LAWRENCE- GILES- 544 PM CDT FRI MAY 1 2009 ...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT TONIGHT... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT WEAK UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES SWEEPING ACROSS THE AREA WILL GENERATE A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH DAMAGING HAIL OR WINDS. HEAVY RAINS WILL LEAD TO LOCALIZED FLOODING AS WELL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A FRONTAL SYSTEM OVER THE OHIO VALLEY WILL DROP SOUTHEASTWARD ON SATURDAY AND BECOME STATIONARY OVER THE MIDSTATE. THE FRONT IN COMBINATION WITH UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES SWEEPING ACROSS THE OHIO AND TENNESSEE VALLEYS WILL GENERATE A SLIGHT RISK OFF SEVERE STORMS THIS WEEKEND. THE FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL ALSO TEND TO CONCENTRATE RAINFALL OVER THE NORTHWESTERN AND NORTHERN TIER COUNTIES THIS WEEKEND. THERE IS SOME POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAINFALL AND POSSIBLY FLASH FLOODING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY TONIGHT AND THROUGH THE WEEKEND DUE TO THE CONTINUING THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. 17/MAG
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
13 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood waters reached the edge of Highway 641. Numerous low areas were also flooded, especially near Hatley Road.
Homes were flooded on Mt Joy Road.
Home was flooded on Cane Creek Road.
Old Highway 99 was flooded. Several homes in the area were being threatened by flood waters. Newspaper reported that Perry's Home Town Grocery on South Ellington Parkway received major water damage and water was standing at the ambulance station under construction in Chapel Hill due to flash flooding.
Homes were flooded on Red Bank Creek Road.
Homes were flooded near Russell Creek Road.
Homes were flooded on Upper Bush Creek Road. Newspaper reported a mudslide closed portions of Highway 412 west of Linden. The slide originated at the top of a hollow near Graham Lumber, and the mud, rocks, and brush washed across the highway. Crews pushed the debris to the sides and had the roadway opened quickly.
Highways 48 South and 100 West were flooded. Newspaper also reported that flash flooding had resulted in county emergency management agency officials using flat-bottomed rescue boats to retrieve several residents in Aetna. Newspaper also reported that several county bridges were closed due to the flash flooding.
Highway 431 was flooded with numerous secondary roads in the county flooded also. Newspaper reported that a home had been damaged on Mooresville Pike in Columbia as a nearby creek rose and left several inches of water deep inside the house, causing carpet to be pulled out along with several pieces of damaged furniture.
Knob Creek Road was flooded.
Airport Road was flooded. Newspaper also reported that a dozen other roads were closed due to high water as the result of flash flooding. Other newspaper articles reported that the Duck River in Shelbyville overflowed its banks, causing several roads to be flooded in the area and also resulting in a release of water from the Normandy Dam. Other newspaper articles reported that Fisherman's Park was completely flooded|along with portions of Riverwalk Park. A residence on Tommy Drive in Columbia did have serious damage to a recently installed chain link fence.
Five and seventy three one hundreths inches of rain had fallen during the past 24 hours. Observer notes that this is the highest water level he had seen on Upper Cane Creek in 7 years by a couple of feet. Many county roads were also flooded.
Several streets and roads were flooded countywide.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, May 2009
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: 172801, 173925, 173930, 172620, 173933, 173934, 173945, 173963, 173980, 172619, 172624, 173921, 173915.