KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — TVA doesn't believe East Tennessee lakes and rivers in the Knoxville area will pose a significant flooding risk this week.
However, problem areas not connected to the Tennessee Riverway could still flood, as well as places downstream in Chattanooga and the Southeastern portions of Tennessee.
In a conference call with the media on Monday, TVA Senior Manager of Forecasting James Everett said that lakes in the area will rise. Between runoff from local floods and the Tennessee River rising, lakes will be at or above summer pool, but both the river and lakes are expected to remain far below flood stage.
The TVA said it is storing large amounts of water in tributary dams through the Valley -- such as Norris and Hiwassee. Those lakes could approach and even exceed summer pool levels as rain continues to fall this week.
All other tributary lakes, including Cherokee, Douglas, South Holston and Fontana, are expected to be higher than normal, but not exceed summer pool levels.
Year to date, the Tennessee Valley has received double the average rainfall and almost four times the average rainfall for February just 10 days in. Everett said because of that, TVA had very little time to lower lake levels because they can only drop so fast without worries of raising the Tennessee River too high. He does stress that, any day after long periods of rain, TVA drops the lake as much as possible.
With three-to-five inches of rain expected this week, TVA said lakes like Norris and Douglas should expect levels to rise by 10 feet or more. Everett said if the forecast changes, lake level predictions will change with that.
TVA predictions on their website include predicted rainfall, and Everett said that they will update the website and TVA app at least four times a day with current levels and future levels.