By BILL JONES

Staff Writer

Flooding of "numerous county roads" from heavy rainfall on Tuesday and early Wednesday led to the closing of Greene County Schools on Wednesday and disrupted traffic in several areas.

Dr. Joe Parkins, director of county schools, made the school-closing announcement about 5:30 a.m. via a telephone message sent to parents and the news media.

Amelia Rader, a spokesman for the University of Tennessee Research and Education Center on East Allens Bridge Road said at mid-morning Wednesday that the weather station there recorded 2.20 inches of rain for the 24 hours that ended at 7:30 a.m.

That amount, she said, was the most rainfall recorded in a single 24-hour period at the center since Labor Day weekend 2006.

A flood watch remained in effect until 10 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.

Towering Oaks Christian School also announced it is closed on Wednesday. But Greeneville City Schools were open on a regular schedule Wednesday.

Parkins said he had made the decision to close schools after consulting Bill Brown, director of the Greeneville-Greene County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, and school system personnel located around the county.

Parkins said many roads in the northern and western parts of Greene County were impassable for school buses Wednesday morning due to flooding, and added that flood waters were still rising as of 5:30 a.m.

During a telephone interview with The Greeneville Sun shortly before 5:30 a.m., EMA Director Bill Brown said he had been monitoring the situation throughout the night.

He noted that the worst of the flooding appeared to be in the northern part of Greene County Wednesday morning. He later sent via electronic mail a list of affected county roads.

Affected Roads Listed

"As of 5:30 a.m., we have roads that are closed due to water over roadways," Brown wrote.

"These roads are Obe Kirk, McDonald Road, Old Kentucky Road South, Marvin Road, Union Road, Doc Hawkins Road, Old Baileyton Road between North Greene High School and Baileyton, Payne Road, Pottertown Road, Lost Mountain Pike, Smith Town Road and Weems Chapel Road, and the streets behind the Zoomers market in Tusculum."

Brown said he expected flooding problems to become worse in western Greene County as the crest of flood waters moved downstream along Lick Creek and its tributaries.

But he said that, as of Wednesday morning, he had received no reports of flooding in eastern or southern Greene County.

The Greeneville Police Department reported no flooding problems in Greeneville Wednesday morning.

A Greene County Sheriff's Department Dispatcher said the Greene County Highway Department had barricaded a number of roads and had worked on flooding problems throughout the night.

The dispatcher said one of the hardest-hit areas outside northern Greene County appeared to be Old Kentucky Road South.

Flood Watch Until 10 a.m.

The National Weather Service, meanwhile, said Wednesday morning that a flood watch was to remain in effect until 10 a.m. for Greene and surrounding counties.

"At 4:25 a.m., a large area of light to moderate rain was still occurring over the southern Appalachian region," a flood watch statement posted on the NWS Morristown Web site said.

"While this rainfall is expected to gradually diminish in intensity and coverage this morning, runoff from the earlier heavy rainfall will continue to cause some flooding of low-lying and flood-prone areas. In addition, numerous larger rivers are expected to either flood or rise close to their flood stages."

A flood warning means that flooding is imminent or has been reported. Stream rises will be slow, and flash flooding is not expected, according to the NWS.

"However, all interested parties should take necessary precautions and exercise caution this morning," the flood watch statement said.

"Most flood deaths occur in automobiles, according to the NWS.

"Never drive your vehicle into areas where the water covers the roadway. Flood waters are usually deeper than they appear.

"Just one foot of flowing water is powerful enough to sweep vehicles off the road. When encountering flooded roads, make the smart choice. Turn around. Don't drown."