Flooding in Tennessee

Governor Phil Bredesen at TEMA Headquarters,

Nashville, Tennessee, May 2, 2010 Photograph by Jed DeKalb, State Photographer

Flood of 2010, West and Middle Tennessee,

May 1-2, 2010

On May 1-2, 2010, the combined effects of a stalled frontal boundary and warm, moist air rising from the Gulf of Mexico caused West and Middle Tennessee to be inundated with record-breaking amounts of rainfall. According to the National Weather Service, in Nashville "a new two-day rainfall record was established when 13.57 inches fell on May 1 and May 2, shattering the previous record of 6.68 inches set on September 13 and 14, 1979." Nashvilles previous record for rainfall during the month of May, 11.04 inches, was set in 1983. The 2010 storms broke that record in just the first two days of the month.

Governor Phil Bredesen's first press briefing

at TEMA Headquarters, Nashville, Tennessee,

May 2, 2010 Photograph by Jed DeKalb, State Photographer

The entire region experienced "1000-year floods" caused by the fact that many locations received 10-20 inches of rain over a 48-hour period. The Cumberland River flooded both Clarksville and Nashville. On May 3 in Nashville the river, with a flood stage of 40 ft., crested at 51.86 ft., a level not seen since 1937. The next day in Clarksville, where the flood stage is 46 ft., the Cumberland crested at 62.58 ft. Other rivers flooded as well: the Duck River at Centerville and Hurricane Mills, the Buffalo River at Lobelville, the Harpeth River at Kingston Springs and Bellevue, and the Red River at Port Royal. Portions of Interstates I-40, I-24, and I-65 were closed because of flooding. According to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), "The flooding and storms caused the deaths of 24 persons: These deaths were mostly caused by water  11 in Davidson County (although one was subsequently ruled natural by the medical examiner), 2 in Perry County, 2 in Stewart County, 1 in Carroll County, 1 in Williamson County, 1 in Shelby County, 1 in Gibson County, 1 in Hickman County, 1 in Montgomery County, 1 in Tipton County, 1 in Maury County and 1 (tornado-related) in Hardeman County." To date, close to 60,000 Tennesseans have applied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for nearly $128 million in federal aid.

Governor Bredesen's tour of the flooding

Photographs by Andrew McMurtrie, State Photographer



Governor Phil Bredesen tours flood-damaged areas

Jackson, Madison County, Tennessee,

May 3, 2010



Jackson, Madison County, Tennessee, May 3, 2010

Jackson, Madison County, Tennessee, May 3, 2010

Madison County, Tennessee,

May 3, 2010



Madison County, Tennessee,

May 3, 2010



Madison County, Tennessee,

May 3, 2010

Interstate I-40 crossing the Duck River

Benton & Humphreys Counties, Tennessee

May 3, 2010

Davidson County, Tennessee,

May 3, 2010



Davidson County, Tennessee,

May 3, 2010



Davidson County, Tennessee,

May 3, 2010

Davidson County, Tennessee,

May 3, 2010

Harpeth River, Coley Davis Road, & I-40,

Nashville, Tennessee, May 3, 2010

Regal Bellevue Stadium 12,

Nashville, Tennessee, May 3, 2010

Cumberland River, I-40, & Charlotte Pike

(West Nashville/Hillwood areas),

Nashville, Tennessee,

May 3, 2010

McGavock Pike & Briley Parkway,

Nashville, Tennessee, May 3, 2010

Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center

Nashville, Tennessee, May 3, 2010

Grand Ole Opry,

Nashville, Tennessee, May 3, 2010

Opry Mills Mall,

Nashville, Tennessee, May 3, 2010

Visco Drive, Nashville, Tennessee,

May 3, 2010

Visco Drive, Nashville, Tennessee,

May 3, 2010

Shelby Street Bridge over the Cumberland River,

Nashville, Tennessee, May 3, 2010 LP Field,

Nashville, Tennessee, May 3, 2010

Broadway & 1st Avenue North,

Nashville, Tennessee, May 3, 2010 Pedestrian bridge across the Cumberland ending at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center

Nashville, Tennessee, May 3, 2010 Special thanks to Lydia Lenker, Press Secretary to Governor Bredesen, for providing the preceding photographs.

Murfreesboro and Nashville, Tennessee

Photographs by William M. Thomas