Flash Flood in Carter County, Tennessee

Heavy rain resulted in releases from Watauga Dam that began to flash flood garages and yards of riverside homes along Watauga Drive in Elizabethton around 10:30 am EST. Flash flooding flowing down the Doe River from the Roan Mountain vicinity began to flood homes and roads in the Valley Forge area around 11:25 am EST. Flooding of areas near the Doe River in Elizabethton began around 11:45 am EST when the stage exceeded 9.5 feet. Much of Elizabethton along either side of North Main and South Main Streets flooded as the Doe exceeded 10 feet. Billy Bob Garrison Field had as much as two feet of water. Homes and businesses flooded on North East Street (adjacent to North Main), where vehicles were moved and flipped by flood waters. At 1:50 pm EST, Sycamore Shoals Hospital on the west side of Elizabethton was evacuated. The Doe River and its flash flooding impacts peaked at 1:30 pm EST with a crest of 10.78 feet, and fell below 9.5 feet at 4 pm EST. The Watauga River crested at 13.57 feet at 2:15 pm EST, and flooding continued into the next day.

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 wet soils and strong wind gusts led to forest damage.