Tennessee, 1999

Tornado and Flash Flood in Tennessee, August 12, 1999

August 12, 1999 · NWS OHX · 25 events in 15 counties and zones

15 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 2 funnel cloud, 1 lightning, 1 tornado, 1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$180,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
25

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

The radar

The Ft Campbell radar (KHPX), 75 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:41 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

15 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 2 funnel cloud, 1 lightning, 1 tornado, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Humphreys

When
August 12, 1:40 PM CST
Where
Humphreys County, Mc Ewen
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates
36.120, -87.630

Highway department reported small trees were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Giles

When
August 12, 1:51 PM CST
Where
Giles County, Countywide
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.220, -87.020

Sheriff's office reported trees were down around the county.

Lightning, Dickson

When
August 12, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Dickson County, Burns
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
36.149, -87.357 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A house located at 1253 White Road was struck by lightning and was burned to the ground. The home was a total loss. A delivery truck driver saw the lightning hit the house as she was driving by. Value of the home is not known, but fire fighters said that due to the size of the home and the extent of the fire, it took a lot of water to put it out. The Dickson Fire Department and the Fairview Fire Department were involved with fighting the blaze.

Funnel Cloud, Montgomery

When
August 12, 3:15 PM CST
Where
Montgomery County, Southeast Portion
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.497, -87.383 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Local law enforecement reported a funnel cloud near I-24 and between exits #4 and 8.

Thunderstorm Wind, Maury

When
August 12, 3:26 PM CST
Where
Maury County, Santa Fe
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.730, -87.130

Sheriff's office reported trees down near State Highway 7.

Thunderstorm Wind, Rutherford

When
August 12, 3:30 PM CST
Where
Rutherford County, West Portion
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
35.870, -86.500

Wife of NWS employee reported trees down in the western part of the county on Highway 102.

Thunderstorm Wind, Moore

When
August 12, 3:30 PM CST
Where
Moore County, 4 mi SE of Lynchburg
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
35.250, -86.330

Newspaper article account of a home losing part of its roof in strong thunderstorm winds. The home was located at Tims Ford Lake in Lost Creek Heights.

Thunderstorm Wind, Marshall

When
August 12, 3:40 PM CST
Where
Marshall County, Chapel Hill
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.630, -86.700

Spotter reported trees were down. Newspaper article said a tree fell on a detached garage, and a hut was destroyed at Christman's nursery.

Thunderstorm Wind, Cheatham

When
August 12, 3:40 PM CST
Where
Cheatham County, North Portion
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.330, -87.080

Sheriff's office reported trees were down in the northern part of the county.

Hail, Davidson

When
August 12, 3:55 PM CST
Where
Davidson County, Donelson
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
36.170, -86.650

Golf ball size hail covering the ground.

Thunderstorm Wind, Davidson

When
August 12, 3:55 PM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Davidson County, Nashville
Property damage
$100,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
36.130, -86.830

Newspaper article stated Antioch Middle School, Una Elementary School, and Donelson's Two Rivers Middle School sustained water damage after winds lifted the roofs, allowing rain to seep in. Also, 5 private planes were damaged, 3 of them heavily, on the ramp of Mercury Air, a charter operation at Nashville International Airport. Strong winds collapsed a section of a warehouse in east Nashville.

Tornado, Rutherford

When
August 12, 4:00 PM CST to 4:01 PM CST
Where
Rutherford County, 2 mi SW of Smyrna
Rating
F0
Path length
100 mi
Path width
5 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.970, -86.550

Spotter and amateur radio operator reported a weak tornado.

Funnel Cloud, Davidson

When
August 12, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Davidson County, Madison
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
36.171, -86.777 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

EMA office relayed a public report of a funnel cloud at Gallatin Road and Old Hickory Blvd.

Hail, Rutherford

When
August 12, 4:05 PM CST
Where
Rutherford County, La Vergne
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
36.020, -86.580

WKRN-TV 2 reported golf ball size hail at La Vergne.

Thunderstorm Wind, Rutherford

When
August 12, 4:05 PM CST to 4:10 PM CST
Where
Rutherford County, La Vergne
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
36.020, -86.580

EMA reported wind damage in the city of La Vergne. Trees and power lines were down. 3 utility poles were down. There was roof and vinyl siding damage to the Cedar Ridge Apartments. Also, a tree fell onto a house.

Thunderstorm Wind, Maury

When
August 12, 4:13 PM CST
Where
Maury County, Columbia
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
35.620, -87.050

Ham radio operator reported trees down just east of Columbia.

Hail, Wilson

When
August 12, 4:25 PM CST
Where
Wilson County, Lebanon
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
36.220, -86.300

Spotter reported dime size hail covering the ground just northwest of Lebanon.

Hail, Davidson

When
August 12, 4:26 PM CST
Where
Davidson County, Goodlettsville
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
36.320, -86.720

SKYWARN Spotter reported nickel size hail.

Thunderstorm Wind, Robertson

When
August 12, 4:30 PM CST
Where
Robertson County, Cross Plains
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
36.550, -86.700

SKYWARN Spotter reported trees down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Robertson

When
August 12, 4:30 PM CST
Where
Robertson County, Springfield Muni Arp
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
36.530, -86.920

A private plane, Cessna 150, flipped over in strong thunderstorm winds according to a newspaper article. The plane flipped over on its side and struck the terminal, knocking out the window of the airport office and totaling the plane.

Thunderstorm Wind, Wilson

When
August 12, 4:47 PM CST
Where
Wilson County, Gladeville
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates
36.120, -86.420

Highway Department reported trees down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Sumner

When
August 12, 4:50 PM CST
Where
Sumner County, Portland
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
36.580, -86.520

Newspaper article stated that part of a roof was blown off the Panther Den restaurant.

Hail, Lewis

When
August 12, 5:02 PM CST
Where
Lewis County, Southeast Portion
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.500, -87.370

911 center reported nickel size hail in the southeast part of the county.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lewis

When
August 12, 5:05 PM CST to 5:06 PM CST
Where
Lewis County, 1 mi E of Hohenwald
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
35.550, -87.550

A portion of a roof was blown off The Outpost Restaurant on West Main in Hohenwald, on U.S. Rt 412 due to straight line winds. A nearby utility pole was also knocked down.

Flash Flood, Lawrence

When
August 12, 5:20 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where
Lawrence County, Ethridge
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
35.217, -87.396 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ham radio operator reported creeks coming out of their banks just north of Ethridge on U.S. Rt. 43.

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Tennessee in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Tennessee, 1999Warnings in Tennessee, August 1999

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5718975, 5718976, 5718984, 5718979, 5718977, 5718867, 5719084, 5718868, 5718978, 5718869, 5718981, 5718870, 5718980, 5718972, 5718983, 5718973, 5718865, 5718974, 5718863, 5718982, 5718866, 5719085, 5718864, 5718861, 5718862.