Search
Menu

Explore

Hazards

Analysis

Rankings

Reference

Tellico River near Tellico Plains

Highest listed crest 15.60 ftFlood stage 9.0 ft21 crests since 1840

The Tellico River near Tellico Plains crested above flood stage 21 times among the 21 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1840 to 2025. The highest, 15.60 ft on August 15, 2023, was moderate flooding, 6.60 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
15.60 ft
August 15, 2023; 24,600 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
9.0 ft
No major stage set
Crests at major
0
21 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
February 13, 2025
9.57 ft, minor flooding
Location
Monroe County
Tennessee
Identifiers
NWS TLRT1
No USGS station

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Tellico River near Tellico Plains
Action stage8.00—The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)9.07Feb 13, 2025Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage12.014Aug 15, 2023Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream

Every listed crest

21 crests from 1840 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Tellico River near Tellico Plains, 1840 to 2025 810121416ft Flood stage 9.0 ft May 1, 1840: 15.00 ft, moderate flooding; 21,500 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 1951: 12.82 ft, moderate flooding; 15,100 cubic feet per secondJan 31, 1957: 13.60 ft, moderate flooding; 17,500 cubic feet per secondDec 18, 1961: 12.54 ft, moderate flooding; 14,200 cubic feet per secondMar 26, 1965: 12.56 ft, moderate flooding; 13,800 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 1973: 14.18 ft, moderate flooding; 19,900 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1975: 13.21 ft, moderate flooding; 16,200 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 1977: 12.07 ft, moderate flooding; 12,400 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1979: 12.97 ft, moderate flooding; 15,300 cubic feet per secondMay 6, 2003: 13.98 ft, moderate flooding; 19,100 cubic feet per secondNov 24, 2004: 11.85 ft, minor flooding; 11,900 cubic feet per secondJan 6, 2009: 11.15 ft, minor flooding; 9,990 cubic feet per secondJan 14, 2013: 11.55 ft, minor flooding; 11,100 cubic feet per secondDec 2, 2015: 11.70 ft, minor flooding; 11,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 6, 2020: 12.38 ft, moderate flooding; 13,300 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 2020: 14.15 ft, moderate flooding; 19,800 cubic feet per secondAug 17, 2021: 12.13 ft, moderate flooding; 12,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 2022: 10.87 ft, minor flooding; 9,290 cubic feet per secondAug 15, 2023: 15.60 ft, moderate flooding; 24,600 cubic feet per secondJan 9, 2024: 9.56 ft, minor flooding; 6,340 cubic feet per secondFeb 13, 2025: 9.57 ft, minor flooding; 6,360 cubic feet per second Highest, 15.60 ft, Aug 15, 2023 18401880192019602000

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Tellico River near Tellico Plains 1840s: 1 1850s: 0 1860s: 0 1870s: 0 1880s: 0 1890s: 0 1900s: 0 1910s: 0 1920s: 0 1930s: 0 1940s: 0 1950s: 2 1960s: 2 1970s: 4 1980s: 0 1990s: 0 2000s: 3 2010s: 2 2020s: 7 7 1840s1860s1880s1900s1920s1940s1960s1980s2000s2020s
  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, Tellico River near Tellico Plains
1Aug 15, 202315.60+6.60Moderate24,600
2May 1, 184015.00+6.00Moderate21,500
3Mar 16, 197314.18+5.18Moderate19,900
4Apr 13, 202014.15+5.15Moderate19,800
5May 6, 200313.98+4.98Moderate19,100
6Jan 31, 195713.60+4.60Moderate17,500
7Mar 30, 197513.21+4.21Moderate16,200
8Mar 4, 197912.97+3.97Moderate15,300
9Mar 29, 195112.82+3.82Moderate15,100
10Mar 26, 196512.56+3.56Moderate13,800
11Dec 18, 196112.54+3.54Moderate14,200
12Feb 6, 202012.38+3.38Moderate13,300
13Aug 17, 202112.13+3.13Moderate12,700
14Apr 4, 197712.07+3.07Moderate12,400
15Nov 24, 200411.85+2.85Minor11,900
16Dec 2, 201511.70+2.70Minor11,500
17Jan 14, 201311.55+2.55Minor11,100
18Jan 6, 200911.15+2.15Minor9,990
19Feb 23, 202210.87+1.87Minor9,290
20Feb 13, 20259.57+0.57Minor6,360
21Jan 9, 20249.56+0.56Minor6,340

Monroe County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Tennessee

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge TLRT1, 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.