Tennessee floods
Every recorded flood since 1996 · 95 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 4,414 floods and flash floods in Tennessee from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 143 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the August 21, 2021 flash flood in Humphreys County: 20 deaths and $110 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 4 records. Tennessee ranks 15th of 52 states and territories by count and 22nd of 51 per square mile.
Floods in Tennessee, 1996 to 2026
Flood records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 4,4141996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 143average
- Deaths
- 12152 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $6.9Bas filed
- Busiest year
- 2003314 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are floods and flash floods common in Tennessee?
Tennessee averages about 143 floods and flash floods a year since 2000, 15th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2003 (314). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Tennessee records 1071 floods and flash floods since 1996, 22nd of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in Tennessee have the most floods and flash floods?
Per square mile, Davidson County leads Tennessee: 116 days with a flood since 1996, 230.4 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Shelby County has the most flood records (227 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is flood season in Tennessee?
Tennessee's floods and flash floods by month. The busiest month is February (645 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 235 · Feb 645 · Mar 502 · Apr 402 · May 514 · Jun 449 · Jul 489 · Aug 361 · Sep 360 · Oct 98 · Nov 126 · Dec 233 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest floods and flash floods in Tennessee?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-08-21 | Flash FloodPigeon Roost, Humphreys County One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. The 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. Occurring only a few months after another deadly and disastrous flash flood impacted the Nashville metro area on March 27-28, 2021 and killed 7 ... | 20 | 0 | $110M | |
| 2010-05-01 | FloodRural Hill, Davidson County One storm episode: 20 records in 18 places, 2010-05-01 to 2010-05-02; the totals are the episode's. A 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. As a series of shortwaves moved ... | 18 | 0 | $2.1B | |
| 2024-09-27 | Tropical Storm Helene · Flash FloodErwin, Unicoi County One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places, 2024-09-27 to 2024-09-28; the totals are the episode's. Tropical 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. The arrival of Helene on the 27th yielded catastrophic flash flooding and river flooding, as well as significant wind damage as ... | 17 | 0 | $143M | |
| 1998-01-07 | Flash FloodCountywide, Carter County Heavy 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. Nearly 8 inches of rain fell in 24 hours in a rain gage in the headwaters of the Doe River, enabling the Doe River at Elizabethton, TN to ... | 7 | 0 | $36M | |
| 2021-03-27 | Flash FloodStone River, Davidson County One storm episode: 8 records in 8 places, 2021-03-27 to 2021-03-28; the totals are the episode's. An 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. A warm front moved northward into Middle Tennessee early on March 27 before stalling near the I-40 corridor. Between 300-400 AM CDT, ... | 7 | 0 | $26M | |
| 2010-05-01 | Flash FloodKerrville, Shelby County One storm episode: 23 records in 18 places, 2010-05-01 to 2010-05-02; the totals are the episode's. An 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. South to southwest winds pumped warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and created a very unstable ... | 4 | 0 | $906M | |
| 2003-05-05 | Flash FloodAuburntown, Cannon County One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places, 2003-05-05 to 2003-05-07; the totals are the episode's. The 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. | 4 | 0 | $3.0M | |
| 1997-03-01 | FloodMadison County · forecast zone Madison One storm episode: 13 records in 13 places; the totals are the episode's. Excessive rainfall during the first few days of March along with rivers that were already high caused prolonged flooding along the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers as well as their tributaries. Along the Mississippi, the river reached levels that had not been seen since 1937. Numerous roads were closed for days. In ... | 3 | 0 | $35M | |
| 2015-12-23 | Flash FloodMt Joy, Maury County Heavy rainfall resulted in localized flash flooding across central portions of Maury County. One car was found submerged in Carters Creek near Carters Creek Pike and Darks Mill Road intersection north of Columbia, and three teenagers inside the vehicle drowned. Other low lying roads and areas of Columbia and Mount ... | 3 | 0 | $25K | |
| 1998-07-13 | Flash FloodLawrenceburg, Lawrence County Synoptic 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. These thunderstorms contained very heavy rains. Precipitable water values were in ... | 2 | 20 | $7.2M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest floods and flash floods in Tennessee
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-05-01 | FloodDarwin, Shelby County One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $2.6B | |
| 2010-05-01 | FloodRural Hill, Davidson County One storm episode: 20 records in 18 places, 2010-05-01 to 2010-05-02; the totals are the episode's. | 18 | 0 | $2.1B | |
| 2010-05-01 | Flash FloodKerrville, Shelby County One storm episode: 23 records in 18 places, 2010-05-01 to 2010-05-02; the totals are the episode's. | 4 | 0 | $906M | |
| 2024-09-27 | Tropical Storm Helene · Flash FloodErwin, Unicoi County One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places, 2024-09-27 to 2024-09-28; the totals are the episode's. | 17 | 0 | $143M | |
| 2010-08-18 | FloodBuffalo Vly, Putnam County One storm episode: 9 records in 8 places, 2010-08-18 to 2010-08-19; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $128M | |
| 2021-08-21 | Flash FloodPigeon Roost, Humphreys County One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 20 | 0 | $110M | |
| 2013-08-08 | Flash FloodScottsboro, Davidson County One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $77M | |
| 2019-02-23 | FloodHalls Xrds, Knox County One storm episode: 14 records in 14 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 0 | $72M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are floods and flash floods becoming more frequent in Tennessee?
Tennessee's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Tennessee | United States | Tennessee's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 610 | 20,986 | 2.9% |
| 2000s | 1,413 | 54,913 | 2.6% |
| 2010s | 1,274 | 68,322 | 1.9% |
| 2020-26 | 1,117 | 43,563 | 2.6% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent floods and flash floods in Tennessee
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-28 | FloodIvydell, Campbell County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | FloodDe Lap, Campbell County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | FloodJacksboro, Campbell County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodCatlettsburg, Sevier County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodSouth Knoxville, Knox County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodSlatestone, Anderson County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodSevierville Airport, Sevier County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodJefferson City, Jefferson County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodBall Camp, Knox County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodPiedmont, Jefferson County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodHarbison, Knox County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodOakland, Jefferson County | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for floods and flash floods in Tennessee
FEMA has declared 53 disasters in Tennessee for floods and flash floods, counting its incident type and declarations that name flood in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 51 were major disasters, the latest on June 19, 2025.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-06-19 | DR-4878 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 30 |
| 2025-04-02 | EM-3625 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 95 |
| 2024-06-17 | DR-4792 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 12 |
| 2021-08-23 | DR-4609 | Severe Storm and Flooding | 4 |
| 2021-05-08 | DR-4601 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 24 |
| 2020-07-09 | DR-4550 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 20 |
| 2020-04-24 | DR-4541 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 9 |
| 2020-03-05 | DR-4476 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 6 |
| 2019-04-17 | DR-4427 | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | 59 |
| 2017-06-23 | DR-4320 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 14 |
| 2015-04-02 | DR-4211 | Severe Winter Storm and Flooding | 45 |
| 2014-08-13 | DR-4189 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 23 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Davidson County: the county's whole recordThe Tennessee county with the most floods and flash floods per square mile
- Floods across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in TennesseeTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Tennessee20,119 records
- Hail in Tennessee7,175 records
- Winter storms in Tennessee5,914 records