Heavy rain resulted in rapid rises on the Pigeon from NC into TN. Moderate flood stage was exceeded at the forecast point in Newport, NEPT1.
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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.
Heavy rain resulted in rapid rises on the Pigeon from NC into TN. Moderate flood stage was exceeded at the forecast point in Newport, NEPT1. In fact, the river rose most rapidly when it rose from minor flood stage of 8 feet to moderate flood stage of 10 feet in roughly an hour and a half.
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 Dec 7, 5:00 PM EST, 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
500 PM EST WED DEC 7 2011
.DISCUSSION...PRECIPITATION QUICKLY EXITING...AND STEADIER PRECIP
HAS ALREADY CLEARED PLATEAU ADVISORY AREA. SENT QUICK UPDATE TO
CANCEL ADVISORY FROM THESE AREAS A COUPLE OF HOURS EARLY.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
CHATTANOOGA AIRPORT, TN 27 48 29 52 29 / 10 0 0 0 0
KNOXVILLE MCGHEE TYSON AIRPORT, TN 26 46 28 50 28 / 20 0 0 0 0
OAK RIDGE, TN 25 46 27 50 27 / 20 0 0 0 0
TRI CITIES AIRPORT, TN 25 44 26 48 26 / 60 0 0 0 10
&&
.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...NONE.
TN...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES: BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS...COCKE SMOKY
MOUNTAINS...JOHNSON...SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS...SOUTHEAST
CARTER...SOUTHEAST GREENE...UNICOI.
VA...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES: LEE...RUSSELL...SCOTT...WASHINGTON...WISE.
&&
LDWHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 330 AM EST WED DEC 7 2011 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-080830- 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- 330 AM EST WED DEC 7 2011 /230 AM CST WED DEC 7 2011/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... COLDER AIR WILL PUSH INTO THE AREA BY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT CHANGING ANY LINGERING RAIN TO SNOW BEFORE THE PRECIPITATION ENDS...MAINLY OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS...WHERE A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT. FOR THE LATEST DETAILS ON THIS FAST MOVING AND BRIEF WINTRY WEATHER EVENT...SEE OUR LATEST WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY PRODUCT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... ROADS MAY BE HAZARDOUS THURSDAY MORNING...WHERE LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATES IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN AREAS OF SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA ...AS WELL AS THE NORTHERN AND SMOKY MOUNTAINS OF EAST TENNESSEE. ALSO...MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR POSSIBLE ICY CONDITIONS ON ROADWAYS...DUE TO ANY WET ROAD SURFACES FREEZING WEDNESDAY NIGHT. BE EXTRA CAUTIOUS ON ANY BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES. OTHERWISE...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED FOR FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED...BUT SNOWFALL REPORTS WOULD BE APPRECIATED LATER TODAY...AS SNOW MAY FALL IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN AREAS. LCM/TG
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 327 PM EST WED DEC 7 2011 NCZ060-061-TNZ015>017-036>040-042-044-046-067>071-073-083>087- 099>102-080900- CHEROKEE-CLAY-HANCOCK-HAWKINS-SULLIVAN-ANDERSON-UNION-GRAINGER- HAMBLEN-NORTHWEST COCKE-NORTHWEST GREENE-WASHINGTON TN- NORTHWEST CARTER-ROANE-LOUDON-KNOX-JEFFERSON-NW BLOUNT- NORTH SEVIER-RHEA-MEIGS-MCMINN-NORTHWEST MONROE-SOUTHEAST MONROE- HAMILTON-BRADLEY-WEST POLK-EAST POLK- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MURPHY...HAYESVILLE...SNEEDVILLE... ROGERSVILLE...KINGSPORT...BRISTOL...CLINTON...OAK RIDGE... MAYNARDVILLE...RUTLEDGE...MORRISTOWN...NEWPORT...GREENEVILLE... JOHNSON CITY...ELIZABETHTON...KINGSTON...LENOIR CITY... KNOXVILLE...DANDRIDGE...MARYVILLE...SEVIERVILLE...DAYTON... DECATUR...ATHENS...MADISONVILLE...COKER CREEK...CHATTANOOGA... CLEVELAND...BENTON...DUCKTOWN 327 PM EST WED DEC 7 2011 ...AREAS OF BLACK ICE POSSIBLE ON ROADWAYS LATER TONIGHT... AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL EXIT THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION TONIGHT...WITH TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO FALL BELOW FREEZING AFTER SUNSET. WITH MOISTURE POSSIBLY LINGERING ON AREA ROADWAYS...AREAS OF BLACK ICE COULD DEVELOP LATER TONIGHT. MOTORISTS ARE ADVISED TO EXERCISE CAUTION TONIGHT ON AREA ROADWAYS...SINCE SOME SLICK SPOT MAY DEVELOP...ESPECIALLY ON BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES. DMG
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Water covered the road at Eastport Bridge and Jimtown Road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, December 2011
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: 373627.