Winter Storm in Tennessee, March 20 to 21, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Tennessee, March 20 to 21, 2001
Start: 2001-03-20T03:30
End: 2001-03-21T10:30
Location: Tennessee

March 20 to 21, 2001 · NWS MRX · 22 events in 22 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 22 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 22

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS MRX wrote it up.

A low pressure system passing to the south and east of the southern Appalachians and Tennessee Valley dropped snow of varying depth. Snow generally fell above 2000 feet, with the heaviest snows above 3000-4000 feet. On average, elevations between 2000-3000 feet received very little if any snow, except in northeast Tennessee where 1 to 3 inches fell. However, between 3000-4000 feet, amounts varied widely. The highest amounts were: 18 inches in Carter County, and 12 inches on Mt. LeConte in Sevier County. Elsewhere, the range was from 1 to 6 inches.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Morristown, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 20, 2:46 AM CST, 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 20, 2:46 AM CST, 44 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
346 AM EST TUE MAR 20 2001

SFC TROUGH EXTENDED INTO E TN VLY THIS EVENING WITH WEDGING RIDGE E
OF APPALACHIAN SPINE. DPS IN THE TEENS TO THE EAST WITH UPPER 30S W
OF TROUGH. EARLY TODAY...FEATURE OVER MRX MOVE LITTLE WHILE SFC LOW
MOVES FM GLFMEX TO S GA. PRES GRAD PACKS SIGNIFICANTLY OVER S PART
OF MRX CWA. 50 KT E WNDS AT 850 MB ACROSS CWA MTNS. 850 MB TEMPS 0
TO -3C ALONG MTNS MUCH OF FIRST PERIOD. MID/UPR LOW SLIDES ALONG N
GLF CST BECOMING INCREASINGLY VERTICALLY STACKED WITH SFC LOW.
VEERING WIND PROFILE VERY IMPRESSIVE. MOISTURE TRANSPORT AND
ISENTROPIC LIFT POINTS TO BULGING PWS AND HIGH QPF. ALL THIS IS
POISED UNDER VERY GOOD UPPER DIFFLUENCE WITH SLOW MOVING SYSTEM.
AIRMASS INITIALLY DRY BUT LIQUID AMOUNTS FROM TWO INCHES S PART TO
ONE INCH NEAR I40 IN MTNS SEEMS REASONABLE. AMOUNTS TAPER TO NEAR ONE
HALF INCH N PART. OVERALL VALLEY AMOUNTS WILL LIKEY BE LESS DUE TO
FAIRLY STRONG DOWNSLOPING FLOW.

MORE COMPREHENSIVE AFD LATER WHEN PRODUCTS ARE CAUGHT UP.

FCSTID = 17
CHA   43  40  56  38 / 100 100  50  10
TYS   43  40  52  35 / 100  90  40  10
TRI   45  37  47  34 / 100 100  70  30
OQT   43  40  52  35 / 100  90  40  10

.MRX...
NC...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR TODAY FOR ZONES NCZ060>061.
  ...WIND ADVISORY TODAY FOR ZONES NCZ060>061.
  ...FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT FOR ZONES NCZ060>061.

TN...WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY FOR MNTS E TN.
  ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY FOR NE TN VALLEYS ZONES.
  ...WIND ADVISORY TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR NE TN AND TN MTNS.
  ...FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT FOR MTN ZONES OF MONROE AND POLK COUNTIES.

VA...WIND ADVISORY TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR SW VA ZONES.
  ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY FOR SW VA ZONES.

SON

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

22 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Bledsoe

When: March 20, 3:30 AM CST to March 21, 9:30 AM CST
Where: Bledsoe forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 35.596, -85.205 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Campbell

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Campbell forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 36.404, -84.149 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Claiborne

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Claiborne forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 36.486, -83.660 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cocke/Smoky Mountains

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Cocke/Smoky Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 35.925, -83.121 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, East Polk

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: East Polk forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 35.120, -84.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hancock

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Hancock forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 36.524, -83.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Johnson

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Johnson forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 36.455, -81.852 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Marion

When: March 20, 3:30 AM CST to March 21, 9:30 AM CST
Where: Marion forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 35.129, -85.622 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Morgan

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Morgan forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 36.135, -84.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, North Sevier

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: North Sevier forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 35.785, -83.524 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northwest Carter

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Northwest Carter forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 36.293, -82.127 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northwest Cocke

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Northwest Cocke forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 35.925, -83.121 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northwest Greene

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Northwest Greene forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 36.175, -82.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northwest Monroe

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Northwest Monroe forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 35.443, -84.253 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Scott

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Scott forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 36.429, -84.503 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sequatchie

When: March 20, 3:30 AM CST to March 21, 9:30 AM CST
Where: Sequatchie forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 35.371, -85.411 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sevier/Smoky Mountains

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Sevier/Smoky Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 35.785, -83.524 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southeast Carter

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Southeast Carter forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 36.293, -82.127 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southeast Greene

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Southeast Greene forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 36.175, -82.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southeast Monroe

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Southeast Monroe forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 35.443, -84.253 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Unicoi

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Unicoi forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 36.111, -82.432 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, West Polk

When: March 20, 4:30 AM EST to March 21, 10:30 AM EST
Where: West Polk forecast zone
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 35.120, -84.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Tennessee in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Tennessee, March 2001

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: 5233600, 5233601, 5233602, 5233603, 5233604, 5233605, 5233606, 5233607, 5233608, 5233609, 5233610, 5233611, 5233612, 5233613, 5233614, 5233615, 5233616, 5233617, 5233618, 5233619, 5233620, 5233621.