A midlevel trough lifting northeast from Arkansas and Mississippi, interacted with a cold front moving in from the north, to cause widespread showers and thunderstorms across East Tennessee from late in the evening on May 29th, through the late morning hours on May 30th. This led to scattered reports of flash flooding across East Tennessee, most notably in the central Tennessee valley and…
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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 midlevel trough lifting northeast from Arkansas and Mississippi, interacted with a cold front moving in from the north, to cause widespread showers and thunderstorms across East Tennessee from late in the evening on May 29th, through the late morning hours on May 30th. This led to scattered reports of flash flooding across East Tennessee, most notably in the central Tennessee valley and northern Cumberland Plateau 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 May 29, 6:13 PM EST, 2 hours 8 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED
National Weather Service Morristown TN
713 PM EDT Fri May 29 2026
...New AVIATION...
.KEY MESSAGES...
Updated at 710 PM EDT Fri May 29 2026
- Moisture returning today with showers and a few storms tonight
into Saturday, some of which may produce very heavy rainfall
and isolated flash flooding.
- A drier weather pattern develops next week.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 225 PM EDT Fri May 29 2026
A nearly stationary surface front sits south of our area, with a
mid/upper level ridge extending SE to NW across the region and a
shortwave trough just to our southwest. This shortwave will lift NE
and the frontal boundary will nudge back north into our area
tonight.
Deep moisture is spreading back north into our area, and PW Values
will be around the 1.6 to 1.9 inch range for much of the area
overnight into Saturday. Cape values do not look high but the tall
skinny CAPE profiles suggest efficient warm cloud processes and the
possibility of high rainfall rates, and the surface boundary lifting
back into our area will act to focus and sustain convective
development as well. Localized flooding will be a concern tonight
into at least Saturday morning, especially where any training
cells develop. While flooding issues are likely to be isolated,
there is enough potential for significant flash flooding to
warrant a flash flood watch for tonight into Sunday. The highest
threat looks to be in a swath across and near the northern Plateau
across the central Valley into the central TN mountains, but
there is enough of a threat further south to include those areas
as well.
By later Saturday into Saturday night an upper low over the NE CONUS
will rotate southward and push the frontal boundary back south.
Surface high pressure building in from the north will bring drier
air into the area. Sunday looks drier, although there still may be
some convection especially south closer to the front. Sunday night
into Monday the upper trough over the eastern CONUS will deepen as
additional energy dives south out of Canada. A cold front will
move south across our area Monday, along with scattered showers
and thunderstorms.
Drier air and high pressure will move in behind the front, setting
up a drier period for Tuesday through at least Thursday along with
temperatures near seasonal normals. Rain chances may tick back up
by Friday as moisture begins to increase again.
&&
.AVIATION...
(00Z TAFS)
Issued at 710 PM EDT Fri May 29 2026
Showers are expected to increase over the next few hours, mainly
at CHA and TYS. However, confidence is low regarding where these
showers will be and whether they will affect the terminals. Some
MVFR conditions see likely given the moist air mass and the
expected coverage of showers overnight, but TS will mentioned in
PROB30s. Prevailing VFR conditions return around 16-18Z tomorrow,
although scattered showers may linger around the area through the
afternoon.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Chattanooga Airport, TN 66 82 64 79 / 80 70 20 40
Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport, TN 66 80 61 81 / 90 80 10 50
Oak Ridge, TN 65 80 60 80 / 90 80 0 40
Tri Cities Airport, TN 63 82 56 81 / 60 40 0 10
&&
.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...Flood Watch through Saturday afternoon for Cherokee-Clay.
TN...Flood Watch through Saturday afternoon for Anderson-Bledsoe-
Blount Smoky Mountains-Bradley-Campbell-Claiborne-Cocke
Smoky Mountains-East Polk-Grainger-Hamblen-Hamilton-Hancock-
Hawkins-Jefferson-Knox-Loudon-Marion-McMinn-Meigs-Morgan-
North Sevier-Northwest Blount-Northwest Cocke-Northwest
Greene-Northwest Monroe-Rhea-Roane-Scott TN-Sequatchie-
Sevier Smoky Mountains-Southeast Greene-Southeast Monroe-
Unicoi-Union-Washington TN-West Polk.
VA...NONE.
&&
DISCUSSION...99
AVIATION...DGSHazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Morristown TN 213 PM EDT Fri May 29 2026 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-301815- 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-Northwest 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 VA-Russell-Washington VA- 213 PM EDT Fri May 29 2026 /113 PM CDT Fri May 29 2026/ This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southwest North Carolina...east Tennessee and southwest Virginia. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight Showers and scattered thunderstorms, some with very heavy rainfall, will occur this afternoon and especially tonight. Areas that see repeated or prolonged periods of heavy rain will be at risk for flash flooding. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday The threat of very heavy rainfall and possible flash flooding will continue into Saturday before diminishing later in the day. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Any reports of flooding through Saturday will be appreciated.
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 78 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:23 UTC.
8 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The right lane of US Highway 411 South by Ridgeway Trail closed for flooding over roadway.
Emergency management reported flash flooding was ongoing in the Horse Creek Recreation area and that people were being evacuated.
Tillery Rd closed due to flooded roadway.
The 7700 block of the New River Highway, northeast of Petros, was washed away due to flooding.
Water over Highway 11 just north of Decatur Pike in Athens TN. Report from social media.
Airport Road was closed.
Flooding reported in and around Wartburg.
Several roads impacted by flooding across Loudon County, including Highway 72, Vonore Road, Meadow Road West near Big Hill Road, Highland Avenue, ,and Old Highway 95.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, May 2026
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: 1336311, 1336312, 1336313, 1336314, 1336315, 1336316, 1336317, 1336318.