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Tennessee River at Whitesburg

Highest listed crest 26.10 ftFlood stage 17.0 ft48 crests since 1927

The Tennessee River at Whitesburg crested at major flood stage 8 times among the 48 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1927 to 2021. The highest, 26.10 ft on March 19, 1973, was major flooding, 9.10 feet above flood stage. 5 other gauges on the Tennessee River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
26.10 ft
March 19, 1973; 323,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
17.0 ft
Major flooding from 23.0 ft
Crests at major
8
6th of 89 gauges in Alabama
Most recent flood crest
April 2, 2021
17.11 ft, minor flooding
Location
Madison County
Near Huntsville (11.0 mi)

Flood stages

The thresholds the National Weather Service uses for this gauge today, and how many listed crests reached each.

Flood categories, Tennessee River at Whitesburg
Action stage15.04Feb 8, 2004The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)17.018Apr 2, 2021Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage20.016Feb 13, 2020Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage23.08May 9, 2003Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

48 crests from 1927 to 2021. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Tennessee River at Whitesburg, 1927 to 2021 1015202530ft Flood stage 17.0 ftMajor 23.0 ft Jan 1, 1927: 23.20 ft, major flooding; 283,000 cubic feet per secondApr 25, 1928: 18.10 ft, minor flooding; 170,000 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1929: 21.30 ft, moderate flooding; 231,000 cubic feet per secondNov 19, 1929: 20.32 ft, moderate flooding; 210,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 5, 1932: 19.97 ft, minor flooding; 208,000 cubic feet per secondJan 4, 1933: 21.14 ft, moderate flooding; 236,000 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 1934: 20.50 ft, moderate flooding; 224,000 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 1935: 18.63 ft, minor flooding; 186,000 cubic feet per secondApr 3, 1936: 22.72 ft, moderate flooding; 282,000 cubic feet per secondJan 9, 1946: 23.10 ft, major floodingFeb 15, 1948: 23.00 ft, major floodingJan 6, 1949: 22.90 ft, moderate floodingJan 23, 1954: 22.00 ft, moderate floodingFeb 2, 1957: 23.93 ft, major flooding; 293,000 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1963: 23.40 ft, major flooding; 285,000 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1973: 26.10 ft, major flooding; 323,000 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1975: 20.90 ft, moderate flooding; 230,000 cubic feet per secondNov 30, 1977: 14.70 ft, below flood stage; 141,000 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 1984: 21.65 ft, moderate flooding; 245,000 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1987: 15.32 ft, action stage; 156,000 cubic feet per secondJan 22, 1988: 13.24 ft, below flood stage; 121,000 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1989: 16.80 ft, action stage; 183,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 1990: 22.00 ft, moderate flooding; 260,000 cubic feet per secondDec 25, 1990: 24.80 ft, major flooding; 304,000 cubic feet per secondDec 4, 1991: 20.09 ft, moderate flooding; 217,000 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1993: 17.35 ft, minor flooding; 176,000 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1994: 22.40 ft, moderate flooding; 268,000 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1997: 17.30 ft, minor flooding; 187,000 cubic feet per secondJan 9, 1998: 16.41 ft, action stageJan 27, 2002: 19.10 ft, minor flooding; 207,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 18, 2003: 19.80 ft, minor floodingFeb 24, 2003: 17.40 ft, minor floodingMay 9, 2003: 24.67 ft, major flooding; 292,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 8, 2004: 16.65 ft, action stageSep 19, 2004: 18.48 ft, minor flooding; 204,000 cubic feet per secondDec 11, 2004: 22.03 ft, moderate flooding; 253,000 cubic feet per secondJan 10, 2009: 17.35 ft, minor floodingMar 11, 2011: 19.47 ft, minor floodingJan 18, 2013: 18.31 ft, minor floodingMay 7, 2013: 18.58 ft, minor floodingJul 11, 2013: 18.89 ft, minor floodingDec 27, 2015: 22.31 ft, moderate floodingDec 31, 2018: 17.79 ft, minor floodingFeb 25, 2019: 22.90 ft, moderate floodingFeb 13, 2020: 20.87 ft, moderate floodingMar 26, 2020: 18.76 ft, minor floodingApr 15, 2020: 17.59 ft, minor floodingApr 2, 2021: 17.11 ft, minor flooding Highest, 26.10 ft, Mar 19, 1973 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Tennessee River at Whitesburg 1920s: 4 1930s: 5 1940s: 3 1950s: 2 1960s: 1 1970s: 2 1980s: 1 1990s: 6 2000s: 7 7 2010s: 7 2020s: 4 1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  1. These are the crests the local National Weather Service office lists for the gauge: the highest on record and recent crests. Lesser floods between them may be missing, so counts by decade are a floor.
  2. Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable.

Highest crests

Highest listed crests, Tennessee River at Whitesburg
1Mar 19, 197326.10+9.10Major323,000
2Dec 25, 199024.80+7.80Major304,000
3May 9, 200324.67+7.67Major292,000
4Feb 2, 195723.93+6.93Major293,000
5Mar 14, 196323.40+6.40Major285,000
6Jan 1, 192723.20+6.20Major283,000
7Jan 9, 194623.10+6.10Major—
8Feb 15, 194823.00+6.00Major—
9Jan 6, 194922.90+5.90Moderate—
10Feb 25, 201922.90+5.90Moderate—
11Apr 3, 193622.72+5.72Moderate282,000
12Mar 30, 199422.40+5.40Moderate268,000
13Dec 27, 201522.31+5.31Moderate—
14Dec 11, 200422.03+5.03Moderate253,000
15Jan 23, 195422.00+5.00Moderate—
16Feb 17, 199022.00+5.00Moderate260,000
17May 10, 198421.65+4.65Moderate245,000
18Mar 30, 192921.30+4.30Moderate231,000
19Jan 4, 193321.14+4.14Moderate236,000
20Mar 15, 197520.90+3.90Moderate230,000
21Feb 13, 202020.87+3.87Moderate—
22Mar 8, 193420.50+3.50Moderate224,000
23Nov 19, 192920.32+3.32Moderate210,000
24Dec 4, 199120.09+3.09Moderate217,000
25Feb 5, 193219.97+2.97Minor208,000
26Feb 18, 200319.80+2.80Minor—
27Mar 11, 201119.47+2.47Minor—
28Jan 27, 200219.10+2.10Minor207,000
29Jul 11, 201318.89+1.89Minor—
30Mar 26, 202018.76+1.76Minor—
31Mar 17, 193518.63+1.63Minor186,000
32May 7, 201318.58+1.58Minor—
33Sep 19, 200418.48+1.48Minor204,000
34Jan 18, 201318.31+1.31Minor—
35Apr 25, 192818.10+1.10Minor170,000
36Dec 31, 201817.79+0.79Minor—
37Apr 15, 202017.59+0.59Minor—
38Feb 24, 200317.40+0.40Minor—
39Mar 25, 199317.35+0.35Minor176,000
40Jan 10, 200917.35+0.35Minor—
41Mar 5, 199717.30+0.30Minor187,000
42Apr 2, 202117.11+0.11Minor—
43Jun 23, 198916.80−0.20Action183,000
44Feb 8, 200416.65−0.35Action—
45Jan 9, 199816.41−0.59Action—
46Mar 1, 198715.32−1.68Action156,000
47Nov 30, 197714.70−2.30Below flood stage141,000
48Jan 22, 198813.24−3.76Below flood stage121,000

The worst floods along the Tennessee River

For this gauge's highest crests, the other gauges on the Tennessee River that crested above flood stage within a week.

March 19, 1973: 26.10 ft here, major flooding

  • ChattanoogaTN · Mar 18, 1973 · 657.98 ft · Major
  • SavannahTN · Mar 20, 1973 · 396.11 ft · Major
  • PerryvilleTN · Mar 21, 1973 · 377.80 ft · Major
  • FlorenceAL · Mar 17, 1973 · 30.03 ft · Moderate
  • DecaturAL · Mar 18, 1973 · 9.97 ft · Minor

December 25, 1990: 24.80 ft here, major flooding

  • PerryvilleTN · Dec 28, 1990 · 373.82 ft · Moderate
  • FlorenceAL · Dec 23, 1990 · 27.58 ft · Moderate

May 9, 2003: 24.67 ft here, major flooding

  • ChattanoogaTN · May 8, 2003 · 657.20 ft · Major
  • SavannahTN · May 12, 2003 · 390.70 ft · Major
  • PerryvilleTN · May 13, 2003 · 377.10 ft · Major
  • FlorenceAL · May 7, 2003 · 25.53 ft · Minor
  • DecaturAL · May 10, 2003 · 10.29 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Tennessee River

Flood gauges sharing the river's name, linked within 80 miles of one another.

Flood gauges on the Tennessee River
ChattanoogaTN651.1678.90 ft, Mar 11, 18674
DecaturAL9.014.80 ft, Mar 15, 18671
FlorenceAL18.032.50 ft, Mar 19, 18971
JohnsonvilleTN361.5372.64 ft, May 4, 20111
PerryvilleTN365.0380.90 ft, Mar 1, 18975
SavannahTN370.0401.20 ft, Mar 21, 189713
Whitesburg this gaugeAL17.026.10 ft, Mar 19, 19738

Other gauges in Madison County

Flood gauges in Madison County
Sherwood Drive in Huntsville12.014.55 ft, Jun 28, 19990
Farley11.013.78 ft, Jun 28, 19990
Brownsboro17.024.58 ft, Apr 28, 20119
Madison7.512.70 ft, Mar 16, 19730
Clinton Avenue in Huntsville16.016.79 ft, May 6, 20030

Madison County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Alabama

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge WHIA1, retrieved October 30, 2026. Stages in feet on the gauge's own datum, not elevation. Crests are as the National Weather Service lists them; preliminary values may be revised.