An unusually deep snow pack across southwest Virginia underwent melting from warming temperatures and from liquid rain falling upon it. Flooding in low-lying areas, streams, and rivers resulted and became widespread.
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.
An unusually deep snow pack across southwest Virginia underwent melting from warming temperatures and from liquid rain falling upon it. Flooding in low-lying areas, streams, and rivers resulted and became widespread.
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 Mar 4, 6:28 AM EST, 1 hour 47 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
628 AM EST WED MAR 4 2015
.AVIATION...A COLD FRONT WILL PUSH THROUGH THE AREA TONIGHT.
SHOWERS AROUND AT TIMES...ESPECIALLY EARLY AND THEN AGAIN TONIGHT.
SOME LOW CIGS/VIS TO START...THEN EXPECT IMPROVING CONDITIONS.
LOWERING CIGS/VIS AGAIN LATE. LOW LEVEL JET STILL QUITE STRONG
EARLY NORTHEAST...SO WILL KEEP LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR AT TRI FOR A
FEW HOURS.
&&
.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...NONE.
TN...WINTER STORM WATCH FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON
FOR ANDERSON-BLEDSOE-GRAINGER-HAMBLEN-HAMILTON-HANCOCK-
HAWKINS-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-KNOX-LOUDON-MARION-MEIGS-
NORTHWEST CARTER-NORTHWEST GREENE-RHEA-ROANE-SEQUATCHIE-
SOUTHEAST CARTER-SOUTHEAST GREENE-SULLIVAN-UNICOI-UNION-
WASHINGTON TN.
FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING FOR CAMPBELL-CLAIBORNE-
HANCOCK-MORGAN-SCOTT TN.
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 1 AM TO 4 PM EST THURSDAY FOR CAMPBELL-
CLAIBORNE-MORGAN-SCOTT TN.
VA...WINTER STORM WATCH FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON
FOR RUSSELL-SCOTT-WASHINGTON.
FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING FOR LEE-RUSSELL-SCOTT-
WASHINGTON-WISE.
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 1 AM TO 4 PM EST THURSDAY FOR LEE-WISE.
&&HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 514 AM EST WED MAR 4 2015 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-051015- 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- 514 AM EST WED MAR 4 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL DEVELOP LATE TODAY INTO TONIGHT AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT...MAINLY IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. ALSO THERE WILL BE THE POTENTIAL OF RIVER FLOODING DUE TO PERIODS OF MODERATE TO POSSIBLY HEAVY RAINFALL COMBINED WITH A SATURATED SOIL FROM RECENT SNOW MELT ACROSS SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... LATE TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY THE COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH. ACCUMULATING ICE AND SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE NORTHERN CUMBERLAND PLATEAU...SOUTHWEST VA AND THE EAST TN MOUNTAINS. ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF A TENTH TO A QUARTER OF AN INCH AND SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE. SEE MEMWSWMRX FOR DETAILS. BEHIND THE SYSTEM...ANOTHER SURGE OF COLD ARCTIC AIR WILL MOVE INTO THE EASTERN TENNESSEE VALLEY AND SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Seminary Road closed due to flooding.
Several roads across county closed by flooding. Some homes and structures took water. Some roads and driveways were partially washed out. One mudslide was reported.
Several roads closed across the county due to flooding.
Flooding of government housing in the City of Norton.
Minor flooding reported in the Dante area. Mudslide reported in the Horton Ridge area.
Portions of North Fork River Road closed with up to a foot of water.
Mudslide destroyed a mobile home on Armagosa Road just outside of Norton. No injuries.
Flooding of roads resulted in numerous road closures along the Clinch River and across the county.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Virginia in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, March 2015
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: 562146, 562147, 562148, 562149, 562150, 562152, 562154, 562158.