Flash Flood — Cumberland, Tennessee

2015-07-02 to 2015-07-03 · near Welch, Cumberland, Tennessee

Event narrative

Major flash flooding affected much of Cumberland County from the evening hours on July 2 into the morning hours on July 3. Numerous roads throughout the county were flooded and closed, including Southwood Drive at Lantana Road, Cow Pen Road at Mayland Road, East Cove Road, Cumberland Cove at Highway 70, Bud Tanner Road, Old Claysville Road, White Horse Road at Crazy Horse Road, and Old Flynn's Cove Road.

Some roads were washed away and destroyed, including George Branch Drive at Dripping Springs Road. One 31 year old man drove into a 30 foot ravine that was caused by a washed out culvert on George Branch Drive and was killed. A CoCoRaHS observer 4.3 miles S of Monterey measured 7.94 inches of rain over the 48 hour period ending at 7am on July 3rd.

Wider weather episode

Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed across Middle Tennessee during the afternoon and evening hours on July 2. Some of these storms became supercells with low level rotation, and produced 5 weak tornadoes along with several other funnel clouds and wind damage. Showers and thunderstorms spread eastward into the Upper Cumberland region during the evening on July 2 and continued through the night and into the morning on July 3, causing widespread major flash flooding. Dozens of homes and businesses were flooded, and many roadways were washed out and closed. One man was killed in Cumberland County when he drove off a 30 foot ravine created by a washed out roadway.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.0648, -85.2220)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 594336. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.