Flash Flood in Tennessee
Every flash flood event the National Weather Service has filed in Tennessee, year by year, with the most significant episodes. Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
The most significant on the map
The most significant flash flood 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
- 3,355
- Deaths
- 86
- Injuries
- 51
- Damage
- $854 million
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, August 21, 2021The deadliest flash flood to ever affect Middle Tennessee, and one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the state, struck the region on Saturday, August 21, 2021.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, May 1 to 4, 2010A frontal boundary setup across Western and Middle Tennessee late Friday night (April 30), and remained through the weekend. A persistent southerly flow fed moisture into the area and precipitable water values rose to almost 2 inches, based on data from KOHX upper air soundings.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, May 4 to 5, 2003Several homes had windows broken or roof damage. Some trees were knocked down.
- 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.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, April 2 to 3, 2025A significant multi-hazard, multi-day event occurred across the Mid-South from April 2, 2025, to April 8, 2025, producing 35 tornadoes, record flooding, and numerous reports of damaging winds and large hail. A large upper-level trough covered the Western U.S. in early April.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Tennessee, December 10 to 11, 2021December 10, 2021, was unseasonably warm over the region. Temperatures broke several long-standing records. Memphis hit 80 F which broke a 103-year-old high-temperature record.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, May 8 to 11, 2024A widespread severe weather event impacted Middle Tennessee beginning in the early morning hours of May 8, 2024, and continued through the early morning hours of May 9th.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, May 1 to 15, 2010An upper level disturbance slowly approached the Mid-South during the evening of April 30th, 2010 as a cold front became stationary to the west. This pattern remained in place through the evening hours of May 2nd, 2010.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Tennessee, March 27 to 28, 2021An historic flash flooding event affected the central third of Middle Tennessee from the early morning hours on March 27 through the day into the early morning hours on March 28.
- Flash Flood in Tennessee, January 7, 1998Heavy rain over several hours triggered flash flooding. The heaviest rain fell between 1900 EST, January 7 and 0100 EST, January 8, where two to five inches fell during the period.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, December 23, 2015An unusually powerful upper level trough moved across the eastern United States on December 23, 2015, spawning widespread severe weather from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, April 12 to 13, 2020A prolonged convective event with deep moist southerly flow in an unstable environment with strong wind shear generated supercell thunderstorms across Southeast Tennessee and Southwest North Carolina.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, May 4 to 7, 2003The White House granted Governor Phil Bredesen's request for Presential Disaster Declaration for 20 counties in West and Middle Tennessee for damage as a result of tornadoes, flooding and severe thunderstorms which began on Sunday , May 4, 2003.
- Tornado and Flash Flood in Tennessee, November 26 to 27, 2001Several buildings had water in their basements. A dozen roads were flooded.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, November 28 to 30, 2016A strong upper level system moved through the Eastern United States late Tuesday into early Wednesday. The associated surface low pressure system pressed north northeast from the Lower Mississippi across the Mid South on its way across the Lower Ohio Valley.
- Flash Flooding and Heavy Rain in Tennessee, August 12, 2025A weak upper low helped advect near record moisture into Tennessee, where a boundary and classic heavy rain profiles combined to produce extreme rainfall rates over portions of Chattanooga, leading to numerous water rescues, a few evacuations, flooded interstate and local roads,…
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Tennessee, April 16, 1998A carport was torn from a house and blown onto a nearby highway.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Tennessee, November 9 to 10, 2002The tornado moved into Tipton county from Mississippi county in Arkansas and moved northeast. The tornado produced significant damage across the county. One man was injured was injured by bricks blown down from the facade of a building in downtown Covington.
- Flash Flooding in Tennessee, July 13 to 14, 1998Synoptic conditions near the surface and aloft, set the stage for serious flooding problems in Lawrenceburg. A strong cut off low, located west of Lawrenceburg, caused a series of thunderstorms to train or move across Lawrence county.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, February 6 to 7, 2025Warm front lifted north into Kentucky and severe thunderstorms, including discrete supercells, moved ahead of the cold front into East Tennessee, producing multiple hazards. Two tornadoes occurred in this event, an unusual occurrence for February in East Tennessee.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, April 28, 2014A tornado outbreak occurred during the late afternoon and evening across the central Tennessee Valley on the 28th. Several cyclic supercells produced tornadoes, some of which were strong.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, December 23, 2015Strong surface low pressure tracked from the Plains into the Mississippi River Valley while a strong cold front pushed into the Mid-South on December 23, 2015.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, November 5 to 6, 2018A line of severe thunderstorms called a Quasi-linear Convective System (QLCS) developed across west Tennessee and moved eastward across Middle Tennessee during the late evening hours on Monday, November 5, 2018 into the early morning hours on Tuesday, November 6, 2018.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Tennessee, June 4 to 5, 2014A weak cold front moving southward out of Kentucky spawned numerous showers and thunderstorms throughout Middle Tennessee from the late evening hours on June 4 and continuing throughout the day on June 5. Many reports of damaging winds were received with these storms.
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Tennessee, January 23 to 24, 200217 counties in Tennessee requested federal assistance due to the flooding. The counties are: Anderson, Bedford, Cannon, Coffee, Cumberland, Fentress, Giles, Hardin, Jackson, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, McNairy, Maury, Putnam, Warren and Wayne.Doppler radar estimated as much as 6…
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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.