A strong storm system triggered slow moving thunderstorms across southwest VA on the 28th. The storms brought heavy rain and flooding to many cities and rural areas.
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 triggered slow moving thunderstorms across southwest VA on the 28th. The storms brought heavy rain and flooding to many cities and rural areas.
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 Feb 28, 12:59 PM EST, 2 hours 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
1259 PM EST MON FEB 28 2011
.AVIATION...COLD FRONT TRACKING THROUGH THE AREA BRINGING IFR/MVFR
CONDITIONS...THUNDERSTORMS AND STRONG GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS TO ALL
SITES EARLY IN THE TAF PERIOD. WINDS SHOULD DECREASE AND SWITCH TO
THE NORTHWEST IN THE EVENING HOURS.
&&
.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM EST THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: CHEROKEE...CLAY.
TN...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: ANDERSON...CAMPBELL...CLAIBORNE...GRAINGER...
HAMBLEN...HANCOCK...HAWKINS...MORGAN...NORTHWEST CARTER...
NORTHWEST GREENE...SCOTT TN...SULLIVAN...UNION...WASHINGTON
TN.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM EST /3 PM CST/ THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES: ANDERSON...BLEDSOE...BLOUNT SMOKY
MOUNTAINS...CAMPBELL...CLAIBORNE...COCKE SMOKY MOUNTAINS...
EAST POLK...JOHNSON...MARION...MORGAN...SCOTT TN...
SEQUATCHIE...SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS...SOUTHEAST CARTER...
SOUTHEAST GREENE...SOUTHEAST MONROE...UNICOI...UNION.
VA...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: LEE...RUSSELL...SCOTT...WASHINGTON...WISE.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM EST THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: LEE...RUSSELL...SCOTT...WASHINGTON...WISE.
&&
GHHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 436 AM EST MON FEB 28 2011 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-010945- 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- 436 AM EST MON FEB 28 2011 /336 AM CST MON FEB 28 2011/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A SLIGHT TO MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS TODAY FOR THE REGION...INCLUDING ISOLATED TORNADOES. STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS WILL ALSO OCCUR AHEAD OF THESE STORMS AND AN ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT ...MAINLY FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 2500 FEET WHERE A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS COULD CAUSE FLOODING OR FLASH FLOODING OVER PARTS OF NORTHEAST TENNESSEE INTO SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA. FOR MORE DETAILS ON THESE HAZARDS...SEE OUR LATEST SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...FLOOD WATCH...OR WIND ADVISORY PRODUCTS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY TRANQUIL WEATHER RETURNS FOR TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...WITH THE NEXT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ON SATURDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE NEEDED LATER THIS MORNING INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. TG
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
238 PM EST MON FEB 28 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0225 PM TSTM WND DMG CHATTANOOGA 35.07N 85.26W
02/28/2011 HAMILTON TN AMATEUR RADIO
FEW TREES DOWN NEAR INTERSECTION OF HOOKER AND WILSON
ROADS.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
240 PM EST MON FEB 28 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0230 PM TSTM WND DMG RED BANK 35.11N 85.29W
02/28/2011 HAMILTON TN EMERGENCY MNGR
FEW TREES DOWN ON A HOUSE.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
249 PM EST MON FEB 28 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0230 PM TSTM WND DMG RED BANK 35.11N 85.29W
02/28/2011 HAMILTON TN AMATEUR RADIO
NUMEROUS REPORTS OF TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN ACROSS
ACROSS ROADWAYS AND HOUSES.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
250 PM EST MON FEB 28 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0245 PM HAIL CLEVELAND 35.18N 84.87W
02/28/2011 M1.00 INCH BRADLEY TN AMATEUR RADIO
&&SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 250 PM EST MON FEB 28 2011 TNZ018-042>047-282030- JOHNSON TN-NORTHWEST CARTER TN-NORTHWEST GREENE TN-SOUTHEAST CARTER TN-SOUTHEAST GREENE TN-UNICOI TN-WASHINGTON TN- 250 PM EST MON FEB 28 2011 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR GREENE...CARTER...UNICOI... JOHNSON AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES UNTIL 330 PM EST... AT 242 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES SOUTHEAST OF TUSCULUM...OR 11 MILES WEST OF ERWIN...MOVING EAST AT 50 MPH. SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...HAMPTON...UNICOI... MILLIGAN COLLEGE...LIMESTONE COVE...ROAN MOUNTAIN...ELK MILLS AND TRADE. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS...IN EXCESS OF ONE INCH PER HOUR...MAY OCCUR WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR PONDING OF WATER ON ROADWAYS...AND POSSIBLE MINOR FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS. DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH. TURN AROUND! DON'T DROWN! 17
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
304 PM EST MON FEB 28 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0240 PM TSTM WND DMG DAYTON 35.49N 85.01W
02/28/2011 RHEA TN LAW ENFORCEMENT
TWO TREES DOWN.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The emergency manager reported flooding in several areas in Hansonville from slow moving thunderstorms.
A trained spotter reported some houses flooded on Kings Mill Pike in Bristol from slow moving thunderstorms.
The mesonet reported flooding near Mendota from slow moving thunderstorms. Streams were reported out of their bank and Barnrock Road covered with at least eight inches of water in some locations.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Virginia in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, February 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: 285499, 285506, 285539.