Limited severe convection developed at mid evening across the Cumberland Plateau in the vicinity of a slow moving frontal boundary. Deep moisture and lift in this weather regime featuring the passage of several upper level systems near and in advance of the boundary resulted in copious rainfall across the Cumberland Plateau and subsequent flooding.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 episode as NWS MRX wrote it up.
Limited severe convection developed at mid evening across the Cumberland Plateau in the vicinity of a slow moving frontal boundary. Deep moisture and lift in this weather regime featuring the passage of several upper level systems near and in advance of the boundary resulted in copious rainfall across the Cumberland Plateau and subsequent flooding.
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 May 3, 6:00 PM CST, 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
800 PM EDT SUN MAY 3 2009
.AVIATION...AN OLD FRONTAL BOUNDARY OVER THE REGION WILL CONTINUE TO
ACT AS A FOCUS FOR OCCASIONAL SHOWERS AND POSSIBLY AN ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORM THROUGH MUCH OF THE TAF PERIOD. THESE SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS MAY AFFECT THE TAF SITES AND CREATE BRIEF PERIODS OF
MVFR AND IFR CONDITIONS. SHOULD BEGIN TO SEE SOME IMPROVEMENT LATE
IN THE PERIOD.
&&
.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH MONDAY MORNING FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: CHEROKEE...CLAY.
TN...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH MONDAY MORNING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
ANDERSON...BLEDSOE...BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS...BRADLEY...
CAMPBELL...CLAIBORNE...EAST POLK...GRAINGER...HAMILTON...
HANCOCK...JEFFERSON...KNOX...LOUDON...MARION...MCMINN...
MEIGS...MORGAN...NW BLOUNT...NORTH SEVIER...NORTHWEST
MONROE...RHEA...ROANE...SCOTT TN...SEQUATCHIE...SEVIER
SMOKY MOUNTAINS...SOUTHEAST MONROE...UNION...WEST POLK.
VA...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH MONDAY MORNING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
LEE...WISE.
&&
MJBHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 451 AM EDT SUN MAY 3 2009 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-040900- CHEROKEE-CLAY-SCOTT TN-CAMPBELL-CLAIBORNE-HANCOCK-HAWKINS- SULLIVAN-JOHNSON-MORGAN-ANDERSON-UNION-GRAINGER-HAMBLEN- NORTHWEST COCKE-COCKE SMOKY MOUNTAINS-NORTHWEST GREENE- SOUTHEAST GREENE-WASHINGTON TN-UNICOI-NORTHWEST CARTER- SOUTHEAST CARTER-ROANE-LOUDON-KNOX-JEFFERSON-NW BLOUNT- BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS-NORTH SEVIER-SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS- SEQUATCHIE-BLEDSOE-RHEA-MEIGS-MCMINN-NORTHWEST MONROE- SOUTHEAST MONROE-MARION-HAMILTON-BRADLEY-WEST POLK-EAST POLK-LEE- WISE-SCOTT-RUSSELL-WASHINGTON- 451 AM EDT SUN MAY 3 2009 /351 AM CDT SUN MAY 3 2009/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS THE AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT...AS AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPS ALONG A STALLED FRONTAL BOUNDARY. A FEW STRONG TO MARGINALLY SEVERE STORMS MAY DEVELOP OVER EXTREME SOUTHEAST PARTS OF TENNESSEE. HOWEVER...THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE POSSIBLE FLOODING FROM ADDITIONAL MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINS. FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING...PLEASE SEE OUR LATEST FLOOD WATCH STATEMENT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY SHOWERS AND STORMS SHOULD END EARLY MONDAY AS A COLD FRONT PUSHES EAST OF THE APPALACHIANS...WITH NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED THROUGH SATURDAY AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS UNLIKELY AT THIS TIME. TG
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 39 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:12 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was reported down on Ladds Cove Road one and a half miles north northeast of Martin Springs.
Numerous trees were reported down across the northwest half of the county.
A tree was reported down on East Valley Road three and a half miles south of Center Point.
One tree was reported down on Buck Ridge Road three and a half miles northeast of Lewis Chapel.
Several inches of water was over numerous roads due to flash flooding.
Numerous roads were flooded with several inches of water over the roads. One person was rescued from a stranded and floating vehicle and another family was evacuated. The heavy rainfall also caused a mudslide in vicinity of Oneida. A portion of the road was destroyed and one vehicle was damaged.
A hardware store and three other buildings had several inches of water in the locations due to flash flooding.
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: 157303, 157304, 157305, 157306, 200381, 200395, 200393.