Tennessee River at Chattanooga

Highest listed crest 678.90 ftFlood stage 651.1 ft7 crests since 1867

The Tennessee River at Chattanooga crested at major flood stage 4 times among the 7 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1867 to 2019. The highest, 678.90 ft on March 11, 1867, was major flooding, 27.80 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Tennessee River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 1 at its own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest: 678.90 ft; March 11, 1867; 459,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage: 651.1 ft; Major flooding from 655.0 ft
Crests at major: 4; 22nd of 100 gauges in Tennessee
Most recent flood crest: February 24, 2019; 651.14 ft, minor flooding
Location: Hamilton County; Near Chattanooga (3.4 mi), Red Bank (3.9 mi), East Ridge (6.0 mi)
Identifiers: NWS CHAT1; USGS 03568000

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 Chattanooga

Action stage	649.0	0	—	The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)	651.1	3	Feb 24, 2019	Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage	653.0	0	—	Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage	655.0	4	May 8, 2003	Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

7 crests from 1867 to 2019. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

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.
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 Chattanooga

1	Mar 11, 1867	678.90	+27.80	Major	459,000
2	Mar 1, 1875	674.80	+23.70	Major	410,000
3	Mar 18, 1973	657.98	+6.88	Major	267,000
4	May 8, 2003	657.20	+6.10	Major	—
5	Apr 20, 1998	651.38	+0.28	Minor	207,000
6	Jul 8, 2013	651.36	+0.26	Minor	—
7	Feb 24, 2019	651.14	+0.04	Minor	—

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 11, 1867: 678.90 ft here, major flooding

DecaturAL · Mar 15, 1867 · 14.80 ft · Major · its highest

March 18, 1973: 657.98 ft here, major flooding

SavannahTN · Mar 20, 1973 · 396.11 ft · Major
PerryvilleTN · Mar 21, 1973 · 377.80 ft · Major
WhitesburgAL · Mar 19, 1973 · 26.10 ft · Major · its highest
FlorenceAL · Mar 17, 1973 · 30.03 ft · Moderate
DecaturAL · Mar 18, 1973 · 9.97 ft · Minor

May 8, 2003: 657.20 ft here, major flooding

SavannahTN · May 12, 2003 · 390.70 ft · Major
PerryvilleTN · May 13, 2003 · 377.10 ft · Major
WhitesburgAL · May 9, 2003 · 24.67 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

Chattanooga this gauge	TN	651.1	678.90 ft, Mar 11, 1867	4
Decatur	AL	9.0	14.80 ft, Mar 15, 1867	1
Florence	AL	18.0	32.50 ft, Mar 19, 1897	1
Johnsonville	TN	361.5	372.64 ft, May 4, 2011	1
Perryville	TN	365.0	380.90 ft, Mar 1, 1897	5
Savannah	TN	370.0	401.20 ft, Mar 21, 1897	13
Whitesburg	AL	17.0	26.10 ft, Mar 19, 1973	8

Other gauges in Hamilton County

Flood gauges in Hamilton County

Red Bank	6.5	8.11 ft, Feb 23, 2022	0
Mile Straight	15.0	19.83 ft, Apr 13, 2020	0
Chickamauga	18.0	29.29 ft, May 8, 2003	6
Ooltewah	7.0	7.76 ft, Apr 13, 2020	0

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge CHAT1, 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.