East Tennessee could see flooding, mudslides as next round of bad weather approaches

Liz Kellar, Knoxville News Sentinel
Updated ·2 min read
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Buckle up, Knoxville. The bad weather isn't over.

Several rounds of rain are expected across East Tennessee through late Thursday, the National Weather Service's Morristown office posted on its Facebook page.

Flooding of rivers, streams, roadways and low-lying areas is expected, with mudslides also possible, the weather service said. Rainfall totals between 1 and 4 inches are predicted, with locally higher amounts expected. Knoxville could see rain of up to 2 inches, with the Chattanooga area looking at up to 3 inches.

Gatlinburg, meanwhile, which saw the Little Pigeon River flood in early January, will get up to 1.5 inches, the weather service said.

A hazardous weather outlook is in effect for Knox County and the Smoky Mountains, with periods of moderate to heavy rainfall Wednesday evening and overnight. This could produce some river and stream flooding across southern portions of the forecast area, the weather service said.

There will be periods of moderate to heavy rainfall Thursday, and then another storm system will move across the Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachians this weekend, bringing with it widespread rain and possibly a thunderstorm.

A flood watch is in effect for the region southeast of Knoxville through Thursday evening.

Forecast calls for rain all week

  • Jan. 24: A chance of showers this afternoon, then showers with a slight chance of thunderstorms and heavy rainfall late.

  • Jan. 25: Showers with a chance of thunderstorms that may produce heavy rainfall, with highs in the lower to mid 60s and lows in the mid 50s.

  • Jan. 26: Mostly cloudy with a 50% chance of showers, with highs in the lower to mid 60s and lows in the lower to mid 50s.

  • Jan. 27: Ninety percent chance of showers with a chance of thunderstorms, with highs in the lower 60s and lows in the lower to mid 40s.

  • Jan. 28: Mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid 40s and lows in the mid 30s.

Knoxville area weather radar

Liz Kellar is a Tennessee Connect reporter. Email liz.kellar@knoxnews.com.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville, Smokies could see flooding, mudslides in next round of rain