Minor flooding is expected along a few rivers as the rain from Hurricane Nate makes its way out of Tennessee.
The National Weather Service extended flood warnings Monday morning for the Pigeon River and French Broad River at Newport.
The two rivers are expected to continue rising into minor flood stage as the swollen upriver portions in the mountains send the excess runoff into Douglas Lake. The flood warning extends from Newport along each respective river to the North Carolina state line and is expected to last until Tuesday afternoon.
At last check, both rivers are expected to rise half a foot above their flood stage. While this will only cause minor flooding at the immediate areas along the river, drivers should not risk driving through water along closed or flooded roadways. Remember, "Turn Around! Don't Drown!"
Elsewhere across East Tennessee, Nate's impact has been mostly beneficial to provide much needed rain to offset the abnormally dry weather we've seen ahead of Tennessee's fire season.
The Tennessee Valley Authority has been monitoring river levels and runoff at its dams, saying it doesn't expect any to reach flood stage. The TVA expects some localized flooding immediately below dams to continue until things dry out, which it said is normal with this amount of rainfall.