Water Damage in Knoxville: the Numbers

22 statements about rain, freezes and flood claims in Knoxville. Each one can be read or quoted by itself: it names the place, the number, the time period and the source. Where a number says "calculated", Knox Flood & Freeze worked it out from public data, and the sources page explains how.

Updated November 12, 2026

1
Knoxville's official daily weather record, kept downtown from 1871 and at McGhee Tyson Airport today, covers 156 years of rain readings from January 1, 1871 to November 11, 2026.
Source: ACIS daily record, Knoxville Area record (McGhee Tyson Airport today), calculated by Knox Flood & Freeze on November 12, 2026.
2
The wettest single day in Knoxville's weather record was July 16, 1917, with 6.14 in. of rain.
Source: ACIS daily record, Knoxville Area record (McGhee Tyson Airport today), calculated by Knox Flood & Freeze on November 12, 2026.
3
Knoxville's official gauge recorded 5.08 in. of rain on February 23, 2019, the 6th wettest day in its record since 1871.
Source: ACIS daily record, Knoxville Area record (McGhee Tyson Airport today), calculated by Knox Flood & Freeze on November 12, 2026.
4
On September 23, 2006, the day flash flooding delayed a game at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville's official record shows 3.04 in. of rain.
Source: ACIS daily record, Knoxville Area record (McGhee Tyson Airport today), calculated by Knox Flood & Freeze on November 12, 2026.
5
Knoxville's weather record has 586 days with 1.60 in. of rain or more between 1871 and 2026, the wettest 1% of its days.
Source: ACIS daily record, Knoxville Area record (McGhee Tyson Airport today), calculated by Knox Flood & Freeze on November 12, 2026.
6
118 of Knoxville's days with 1.60 in. or more of rain have come since January 1, 2000.
Source: ACIS daily record, Knoxville Area record (McGhee Tyson Airport today), calculated by Knox Flood & Freeze on November 12, 2026.
7
Knoxville has had 14 days with 4 inches of rain or more in its weather record since 1871.
Source: ACIS daily record, Knoxville Area record (McGhee Tyson Airport today), calculated by Knox Flood & Freeze on November 12, 2026.
8
July is Knoxville's wettest month in the 1991-2020 normals, at 5.25 in., and October is the driest at 2.81 in..
Source: NCEI 1991-2020 normals via ACIS, Knoxville Area record (McGhee Tyson Airport today).
9
Knoxville's normal yearly rain is 51.93 in., the sum of the 1991-2020 monthly normals at its official station.
Source: NCEI 1991-2020 normals via ACIS, Knoxville Area record (McGhee Tyson Airport today), calculated by Knox Flood & Freeze on November 12, 2026.
10
From 1991 to 2020, Knoxville averaged 10.6 nights a year at or below 20°F, the temperature at which unprotected pipes begin to freeze, 5.3 of them in January.
Source: ACIS daily record, Knoxville Area record (McGhee Tyson Airport today), calculated by Knox Flood & Freeze on November 12, 2026.
11
In the 2025-26 winter, Knoxville's official station logged 12 nights at or below 20°F, and its coldest reading was 7°F.
Source: ACIS daily record, Knoxville Area record (McGhee Tyson Airport today), calculated by Knox Flood & Freeze on November 12, 2026.
12
McGhee Tyson Airport, Knoxville's official station, fell to 4°F on December 23 and 24, 2022, with wind chills as low as -16.
Source: National Weather Service Morristown, December 2022.
13
In January 2024 Knoxville kept 4 inches or more of snow on the ground for 7 days in a row, the longest such stretch in snow-depth records that go back to 1910.
Source: National Weather Service Morristown, January 14-17, 2024.
14
FEMA counts 543 National Flood Insurance Program claims in Knoxville's 18 residential ZIP codes, with $7,344,804 paid in all.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, calculated by Knox Flood & Freeze on November 12, 2026.
15
February 28, 2011 is the date of loss with the most NFIP flood claims in Knoxville's residential ZIP codes: 60 claims in 10 ZIPs, with $1,803,983 paid.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, calculated by Knox Flood & Freeze on November 12, 2026.
16
July 31, 1982 ranks second among Knoxville loss dates for NFIP flood claims, with 40 claims across 10 ZIP codes.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, calculated by Knox Flood & Freeze on November 12, 2026.
17
Knoxville ZIP codes had 97 NFIP flood claims with a 2011 date of loss, and $2,220,529 was paid on them.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, calculated by Knox Flood & Freeze on November 12, 2026.
18
ZIP 37918 has more NFIP flood claims than any other Knoxville ZIP code: 152 on record.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, calculated by Knox Flood & Freeze on November 12, 2026.
19
ZIP 37918 has received more NFIP flood payments than any other Knoxville ZIP code, $1,938,657 in total.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, calculated by Knox Flood & Freeze on November 12, 2026.
20
The City of Knoxville holds a Class 6 rating in FEMA's Community Rating System, which the city says lowers NFIP flood insurance premiums there by 20 percent.
Source: City of Knoxville: Floodplains.
21
A three-year City of Knoxville assessment found 23.4 percent of the city's stormwater infrastructure in fair, poor or failing condition, across 29 watersheds.
Source: City of Knoxville, Public Discussions on Stormwater and Flooding.
22
2013 was Knoxville's wettest year on the city's list, with 69.30 inches of rain; 1986 was the driest, with 32.48 inches.
Source: City of Knoxville, Rainfall Data.