Nolichucky River

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CSX Blue RIdge Subdivision

The CSX Blue Ridge Subdivision, the old Clinchfield line south of Erwin is now reopen after the extensive damage from Hurricane Helene. The first revenue freight train ran on September 21st, and two coal trains followed on September 25th. Ribbon cutting photo by Mark Loewe. . Use this link to see Designs in Orbit’s exceptional video updates with drone footage. Also, Train Chaser Elliot provides wonderful coverage.  Click here to read about the monumental CSX rebuilding efforts on Clinchfield.org. In the weeks ahead we will add much more content chronicling the events of the past year.

Nolichucky River and its Devastating Floods

For centuries, the Nolichucky River has been both a source of life and a destructive force in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. From the catastrophic floods of the 1800s to the historic inland deluge caused by Hurricane Helene in 2024, the river’s floods have repeatedly tested the resilience of local communities. While historical floods were devastating, the recent surge from Helene demonstrates a disturbing new reality.

The deluges of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries

Long before the era of modern storm tracking, communities along the Nolichucky faced the constant threat of immense, rain-swollen floods. The Great Flood of 1867 was a major event in the region, with the Tennessee River downstream at Chattanooga experiencing its largest flood on record. On the Nolichucky in that year, records show the river rising significantly, a precursor to an even greater calamity decades later. In May 1901, the “greatest known flood” of the era occurred, pushing the Nolichucky 20+ feet above its banks and washing away every bridge in its path. This deluge leveled factories and mills, left hundreds homeless, and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. The floods of this period were often caused by intense, prolonged rainfall, but their impact was amplified by an era with less advanced infrastructure and no warning systems.

Helene: An unprecedented, modern-day catastrophe

Hurricane Helene in late September 2024 delivered a far different kind of flood—one characterized not only by the sheer volume of water but also by its speed and the catastrophic changes it wrought on the landscape. As the remnants of the powerful storm stalled over the Southern Appalachians, it funneled an immense amount of tropical moisture into the already-saturated soils of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina.

The result was an inland flooding event described by some as a 1-in-5,000-year rainfall. At the Nolichucky Dam near Greeneville, water flowed at nearly twice the peak rate of Niagara Falls. The dam was pushed to its absolute limit, with water levels reaching 9.5 feet above the previous record set in 1977. Unlike the gradual, though still destructive, rises of historical floods, Helene’s deluge was a torrent of almost unimaginable power that permanently altered the river’s course.

Nolichucky River Watershed

The Nolichucky watershed includes the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi river, Mount Mitchell. It also includes the Black Mountains and Roan Mountain, all of them more than 6,000 feet in elevation. Click here to see an explanation by Geologist Philip Prince as to how the watershed received record rain and water during Hurricane Helene.

Rainfall during and before the hurricane

In the two days (Sept. 25 & 26th) before the hurricane, 6-12 inches of rain were measured in the Blue Ridge Mountains within areas of western North Carolina. In the next 24 hours as Hurricane Helene hit the mountains (Sept 27th), up to 30 inches of rain were measured in just one day near Mount Mitchell in NC. Thus, 30 to 40 inches of rain were received in some areas within 72 hours, and that water was funneled down the narrow mountain valleys to the Nolichucky, French Broad, and other rivers.

A changing river and an uncertain future

Comparing the flood of 1901 to Helene reveals key distinctions. The 1901 event was a regional disaster caused by heavy rainfall, but the 2024 flood was driven by a powerful tropical cyclone whose impacts were intensified by a high-humidity environment and warm ocean temperatures.

The aftermath of Helene also highlights the difference in long-term impacts. The 1901 flood caused immense destruction to human infrastructure, but Helene’s flood dramatically and irreversibly changed the river’s physical form. It scoured entire islands bare, stripped land away from the banks, and created new, aggressive rapids, turning a familiar river into a hazardous and unrecognizable waterway.

Nolichucky Floods by Year and Water Level

According to the Jonesborough Herald and Tribune, the most destructive floods were in 1824, 1867, 1901, 1916, 1977, 2004, and 2024 with Hurricane Helene. The flood of 1901 was believed to have crested at 24 feet above its normal level. In 2024, that record was broken with reports of more than 30 feet before the flood gauge was swept away.

Nolichucky River Record Crests

Record crests as measured by the National Water Prediction Service (U.S. Government)

  • 33.88 ft. in 2024 (according to high water marks)
  • 24.00 ft in 1901
  • 21.52 ft in 1977
  • 18.57 ft in 1940
  • 15.55 ft in 2004

Clinchfield/CSX Railroads

Click here to read more about the floods and their effects on Clinchfield and CSX Railroads that use the river as a way to cross the Blue Ridge Mountains.

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