A nearly stationary front across the Tennessee valley region continued to aid in the development of very heavy rainfall that contributed to flash flooding that developed into a longer term areal flood event across southwest Virginia.
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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 MRX wrote it up.
A nearly stationary front across the Tennessee valley region continued to aid in the development of very heavy rainfall that contributed to flash flooding that developed into a longer term areal flood event across southwest Virginia.
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 Sep 26, 8:20 AM EST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
920 AM EDT SAT SEP 26 2009
.DISCUSSION...
CURRENT SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE OVER EASTERN
KY...WITH ITS ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT EXTENDING SOUTH ACROSS THE
CUMBERLAND PLATEAU. IN ADDITION...A COLD AIR DAMMING SCENARIO HAS
DEVELOPED OVER THE CAROLINAS...WHICH WILL LIKELY HELP TO PROVIDE
MORE LIFT AND MOISTURE CONVERGENCE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA TODAY.
MODELS ALSO INDICATE STRONG UPPER-LEVEL DYNAMICS (RIGHT ENTRANCE
REGION OF A 250 MB JET STREAK) MOVING OVER THE FORECAST AREA WITH A
VERY MOIST AIR MASS IN PLACE (PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES AROUND 2
INCHES). THESE MULTIPLE METEOROLOGICAL FACTORS WILL COMBINE WITH AN
ALREADY SATURATED GROUND (ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE NORTHERN CUMBERLAND
PLATEAU) TO PRODUCE A POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT FLOODING PROBLEM OVER
THE FORECAST AREA TODAY.
OVERALL...CURRENT FORECAST LOOKS TO BE ON TRACK...BUT WILL PLAN TO
UPDATE THIS MORNING TO TWEAK PRECIP WORDING A LITTLE TO EMPHASIZE
WIDESPREAD CONVECTION MORE.
&&
.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
CHEROKEE...CLAY.
TN...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
ANDERSON...BLEDSOE...BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS...BRADLEY...
CAMPBELL...CLAIBORNE...COCKE SMOKY MOUNTAINS...EAST POLK...
GRAINGER...HAMBLEN...HAMILTON...HANCOCK...HAWKINS...
JEFFERSON...JOHNSON...KNOX...LOUDON...MARION...MCMINN...
MEIGS...MORGAN...NW BLOUNT...NORTH SEVIER...NORTHWEST
CARTER...NORTHWEST COCKE...NORTHWEST GREENE...NORTHWEST
MONROE...RHEA...ROANE...SCOTT TN...SEQUATCHIE...SEVIER
SMOKY MOUNTAINS...SOUTHEAST CARTER...SOUTHEAST GREENE...
SOUTHEAST MONROE...SULLIVAN...UNICOI...UNION...WASHINGTON
TN...WEST POLK.
VA...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
LEE...RUSSELL...SCOTT...WASHINGTON...WISE.
&&
DMGHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 1010 AM EDT SAT SEP 26 2009 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-271000- 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- 1010 AM EDT (910 AM CDT) SAT SEP 26 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST TENNESSEE...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A COLD FRONT WILL SLOWLY MOVE INTO A VERY MOIST ATMOSPHERE OVER THE REGION TO CREATE FAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR HEAVY RAINFALL TODAY. WITH THE GROUND ALREADY FULLY SATURATED FROM RAINFALL EARLIER THIS WEEK...THERE IS THE POTENTIAL A SIGNIFICANT FLOODING EVENT TODAY... ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE NORTHERN CUMBERLAND PLATEAU AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. IN ADDITION TO THE FLOODING THREAT...SOME THUNDERSTORMS MAY ALSO PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS THIS AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TODAY TO ASSIST WITH REPORTS OF FLOODING. DMG
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
1049 AM EDT SAT SEP 26 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0536 PM FLASH FLOOD 12 ENE JONESVILLE 36.75N 82.92W
09/25/2009 LEE VA LAW ENFORCEMENT
HWY 612 IN STICKLEYVILLE IMPASSABLE DUE TO FLOODING.
REPORTED BY DISPATCH.
0600 PM FLASH FLOOD 5 SE JONESVILLE 36.64N 83.05W
09/25/2009 LEE VA DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
HWY 782 IMPASSABLE DUE TO FLOODING. REPORTED BY HWY DEPT.
0645 PM FLASH FLOOD SODDY-DAISY 35.26N 85.17W
09/25/2009 HAMILTON TN LAW ENFORCEMENT
EIGHT ROADS CLOSED IN THE SODDY DAISY AREA DUE TO
FLOODING. REPORTED BY SODDY-DAISY PD.
&&
MEPThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 flood, 2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash flooding occurred and eventually became an areal flood event, as several streams flooded out of their banks across much of Wise County. All roads near the streams county-wide had several inches of water over the road, either flowing across the road or water was standing.
Flash flooding developed into an areal flood event in the Norton, Virginia area. Numerous streets became impassable due to flooding, with water standing at around a foot in height in a few areas in Norton, Virginia.
Areal flooding occurred along 71 just west of Lebanon, Virginia. Several inches to around a foot of water was over the road, with a few areas briefly impassable due to the flooding.
Areal flooding occurred along and near highways 58 and 71 in the Gate City, Virginia area. Several inches of water was over the road, with a few areas briefly impassable due to the flooding.
Areal flooding occurred along highways 11 and 19 in Bristol, Virginia. Several inches of water were over the roads, with a few areas briefly impassable due to the flooding.
Areal flooding occurred along highway 11 in Abingdon, Virginia. Several inches of water was over the road, with a few areas along highway 11 being briefly impassable due to the flooding.
Areal flooding occurred along and near highway 58 in Jonesville, Virginia. Several inches of water was over the road, with a few areas along highway 58 briefly impassable due to the flooding.
Areal flooding occurred along highway 283 in Norton, Virginia. Several inches of water was over the road, with a few areas along the road, briefly impassable due to the flooding.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Virginia in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, September 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: 198151, 198153, 198362, 198363, 198364, 198368, 198366, 198365.