New Flood stage at Johnsonville on the Tennessee River

FLOOD CRITERIA LEVELS ADJUSTED FOR TENNESSEE RIVER AT JOHNSONVILLE, TN

Effective immediately, Friday, February 7, 2020, the National Weather Service (NWS) adjusted the levels corresponding to action stage, minor, moderate, and major flooding at the Tennessee River gage near Johnsonville, TN. These adjustments will enable the NWS offices at Memphis and Nashville to provide better services to interests along this portion of the river.

The new levels are:
Action Stage - 360.0 feet
Minor Flooding - 361.5 feet
Moderate Flooding - 366.0 feet
Major Flooding - 370.0 feet

"The Tennessee River floods of 2019 demonstrated the need to adjust these levels," said Gary Woodall, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the NWS office in Memphis. With the previous levels, we received reports of flooding impacts before we even reached action stage. Clearly, something had to be done. These new levels should better match with ongoing hazards, and enable us to be more proactive with flood watches and warnings for the area.

When developing these adjustments, the NWS coordinated with the Tennessee Valley Authority and with local emergency management officials on both sides of the river. Documentation from floods and inundation mapping will be used to define specific impacts and threatened areas for various river heights.

The National Weather Service in Memphis provides weather and water forecast information for 55 counties across the Mid-South. For more information, visit the Memphis Forecast Office's website at http://www.weather.gov/Memphis, our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/NWSMemphis, and our Twitter feed at @NWSMemphis. For the latest Mid-South river information, visit our Advanced Hydrologic Prediction System website at https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=meg