A strong storm system moved through the area, with isolated flooding occurring as heavy rainfall occurred along and ahead of a cold front.
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.
A strong storm system moved through the area, with isolated flooding occurring as heavy rainfall occurred along and ahead of a cold front.
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 Jan 1, 6:30 AM EST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
630 AM EST SAT JAN 1 2011
.AVIATION...STRONG LOW LEVEL SOUTHERLY JET HAS DEVELOPED IN ADVANCE
OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT. LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR WILL BE A HAZARD
IN FIRST PART OF TAF PERIOD. WIDESPREAD MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN
SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE ALONG AND EAST OF COLD FRONT. MVFR CONDITIONS
WILL BE PREVAILING BUT PERIODS OF IFR CONDITIONS POSSIBLE DURING THE
HEAVIEST OF SHOWERS. BRIEF THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY POSSIBLE AT CHA AND
TYS EARLY IN THE TAF PERIOD. FRONT MOVES INTO THE AREA AROUND
01/21Z. MOST PRECIPITATION WILL HAVE MOVED OFF TO THE EAST. TRI IS
THE EXCEPTION WHERE RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE THROUGH MUCH OF THE PERIOD.
FREEZING LEVEL AROUND 11KFT WILL DROP RAPIDLY ALONG AND BEHIND
FRONTAL ZONE AFTER 02/00Z.
&&
.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM EST THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: CHEROKEE...CLAY.
TN...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 4 PM EST THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES: BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS...COCKE SMOKY
MOUNTAINS...JOHNSON...MCMINN...NW BLOUNT...NORTH SEVIER...
NORTHWEST CARTER...NORTHWEST COCKE...NORTHWEST GREENE...
NORTHWEST MONROE...SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS...SOUTHEAST
CARTER...SOUTHEAST GREENE...SOUTHEAST MONROE...SULLIVAN...
UNICOI...WASHINGTON TN.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM EST /3 PM CST/ THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES: BLEDSOE...CAMPBELL...CLAIBORNE...EAST
POLK...MARION...MORGAN...SCOTT TN...SEQUATCHIE.
VA...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 4 PM EST THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES: WASHINGTON.
&&
SON/MJBHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 356 AM EST SAT JAN 1 2011 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-020900- 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- 356 AM EST SAT JAN 1 2011 /256 AM CST SAT JAN 1 2011/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF EAST TENNESSEE...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT MOVING INTO THE REGION. LOOK FOR MODERATE TO POSSIBLY HEAVY SHOWERS TO DEVELOP AND MOVE INTO THE REGION THIS MORNING. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE TO POSSIBLY TWO INCHES ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU REGION EXTENDING SOUTH TO NEAR CHATTANOOGA...WITH AMOUNTS UP TO AN INCH POSSIBLE ELSEWHERE. RESIDENTS ACROSS THE AREA ARE URGED TO REMAIN UPDATED WITH THE LATEST FORECAST INFORMATION. KEEP NOAA WEATHER RADIO NEARBY AND IN THE ALERT MODE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY ANOTHER COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA BY MID WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED BY TODAY DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF HEAVY RAINFALL.
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 121 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 13:00 UTC.
1 flash flood, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Several inches of water was over the road in the Deer lodge area.
Flooding was occurring with several inches of water over the 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, January 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: 281366, 281360.