Debris Flow in Tennessee
Every debris flow event the National Weather Service has filed in Tennessee, year by year, with the most significant episodes. A fast-moving slurry of mud, rock and debris, usually on a slope soaked by heavy rain or stripped by a fire.
The most significant on the map
The most significant debris flow episodes in Tennessee.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 9
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Damage
- $26 million
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- Flash Flooding and Debris Flow in Tennessee, September 25 to 29, 2024Tropical Storm Helene caps off a several day heavy rainfall event in association with a stalled closed upper low that drew a stream of tropical moisture into the area on the 25th and 26th.
- Debris Flow in Tennessee, February 21, 2019A wet February caused soils to be near saturation. Abundant Gulf moisture associated with approaching frontal boundaries and a southwesterly 500 MB flow produced additional heavy rainfall over the Cumberland Plateau.
- Flash Flood and Debris Flow in Tennessee, February 5 to 7, 2020A cold front extending from the Texas coast to the southern Appalachians experienced little movement as low pressure systems moved northeastward along the boundary. This resulted in heavy rainfall of 5 to 6 inches across most of area.
- Flash Flooding and Debris Flow in Tennessee, May 8 to 9, 2024A cutoff low over the North Plains, coupled with intense winds aloft and a cold front at the surface, helped spawn multiple rounds of severe thunderstorms that produced hail, flash flooding, and damaging winds to East Tennessee.
- Debris Flow in Tennessee, February 20 to 24, 2019There were wet antecedent soils, with additional rain near the events. A landslide on Hwy 66 north of New Life Road occurred on the 20th and again on the 24th.
- Flash Flood and Debris Flow in Tennessee, May 26 to 27, 2024An upper trough, a shortwave, and a cold front combined in a potent environment to produce several rounds of severe thunderstorms in East Tennessee, producing large hail, damaging wind gusts, and some flash flooding.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, March 2, 2023A moist, southwesterly fetch aloft paralleled a stationary front draped across northeast Tennessee to produce areas of heavy rainfall and flooding, along with severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.
- Flash Flood and Debris Flow in Tennessee, March 17 to 18, 2021A low pressure system produced high winds in the mountains and foothills of East Tennessee during the early morning hours of March 18.
- Flash Flooding and Debris Flow in Tennessee, February 16 to 17, 2023Heavy rain was triggered by a cold front slowly displacing a warm sector whose precipitable water anomaly was near the maximum for the day.
More
Sources
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.