The gauge at Franklin crested at 35.32 feet, which is just a few inches above the previous record of 35.14 feet set in 1948. The Red River set a new record crest of 49.48 feet at the gauge near Port Royal, and the Harpeth River reached record levels at three locations on the river. The Cumberland River at Clarksville rose not just from the water coming down the main-stem portion of the river, but also from the significant inflows from two major tributaries – the Red River and Harpeth River. Army Corps of Engineers that if there was no control of the river, the water level in the May Flood would have come close to or even exceeded 56 feet in downtown Nashville.Ī record crest of 62.58 feet was set on the Cumberland River at Clarksville, which is just over 5 feet higher than the previous record crest of 57.10 feet set in the 1979 Flood. This record crest was set back in 1927, before dams controlled the flow of the Cumberland and its tributaries. The Cumberland River at Nashville caused tremendous damage when it rose to 52.55 feet on May 3rd, but fell well short of the highest crest on record - 56.20 feet. This is something rarely seen, especially when records date back 50 to 100 years. This rainfall created a flood event that set record crests at a number of gauges across Middle Tennessee. The map below relates the amount of rain that fell to the chances of that amount of rain actually occurring. A 500 year flood has a 0.2% chance of occurring and a 1,000 year flood has a 0.1% chance of occurring. What is a 100 year flood? A 100 year flood is an event that statistically has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year. Previously, May 1983 was the wettest with 11.04 inches, and January 1937 was the wettest month with 14.75 inches.May 2010 ranks as the wettest May on record and the wettest month on record with 16.43 inches.Previous record was 5.17 inches on September 13th 1979.A new 6 hour rainfall record was also set when 5.57 inches fell.The previous record was 6.37 inches set on September 13th 1979.A new 12 hour rainfall record was also set when 7.20 inches fell on May 2nd.This also established a new record for the most rainfall for any calendar day in Nashville's history.The previous record was 6.60 inches set on September 13th 1979.A new calendar day rainfall record was set when 7.25 inches of rain fell on May 2nd.This shattered the previous record of 6.68 inches set on September 13th and 14th 1979.A new two day rainfall record was established when 13.57 inches fell on May 1st and May 2nd.The old record was 6.68 inches set previously on September 13th and 14th 1979 during the remnants of Hurricane Frederic.In Nashville, a new 24-hour total rainfall record was established when 9.09 inches of rain fell on May 1st and May 2nd.Rainfall records were shattered on May 1st and May 2nd, 2010. This combined with a stalled front just west of Tennessee and a plume of unusually rich moisture from the tropics took aim on the state. Several weather factors caused this complex disaster with the main culprit being a very slow-moving low pressure system at upper levels of the atmosphere. Nashville experienced its all-time rainiest day AND third-rainiest day on back-to-back days with National Weather Service weather records dating back to the early 1870s. In addition to the flooding, several rounds of severe thunderstorms, some of which caused extensive wind damage and six tornadoes also impacted the region.

Property damage estimates exceeded two billion dollars and helped prompt a Presidential Disaster Declaration for many counties in West and Middle Tennessee. The storm killed 18 people in Middle Tennessee and at least 27 in all of Tennessee and Kentucky. Improvements Made in Community Preparednessīack-to-back record breaking rains fell on Saturday, May 1, and again on Sunday, May 2, causing widespread flash flooding and river flooding across much of the mid state.

Nashville flood map