Tennessee, 2001

High Wind in Tennessee, November 29 to 30, 2001

November 29 to 30, 2001 · NWS MRX · 14 events in 14 counties and zones

Strong winds behind a cold front uprooted trees and downed power lines. A trained storm spotter 2 miles north of Gatlinburg in Sevier County estimated winds of 48 knots (55 mph) with gusts to around 63 knots (72 mph).

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 14 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
$279,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
14

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.

Strong winds behind a cold front uprooted trees and downed power lines. A trained storm spotter 2 miles north of Gatlinburg in Sevier County estimated winds of 48 knots (55 mph) with gusts to around 63 knots (72 mph).

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 Nov 29, 8:15 PM EST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 29, 8:15 PM EST, 1 hour 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
815 PM EST THU NOV 29 2001

LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS LOW CENTERED OVER NORTHWEST TENNESSEE/
SOUTHWEST KENTUCKY WITH COLD FRONT/OCCLUDED FRONT EXTENDING SOUTHEAST
TO NEAR HYTOP...ALABAMA THEN SOUTH ACROSS EASTERN ALABAMA. KHTX
RADAR SHOWS FAIRLY QUICK MOVEMENT OF FRONT NORTHEAST TOWARD CHA.
AREA RADAR SHOWS A LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS AND EMBEDDED THUNDER OVER
MIDDLE TENNESSEE AND NORTHERN ALABAMA. MESO-ETA SHOWS THIS BAND
OF RAIN MOVING NORTHEAST ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA OVERNIGHT.

INSTABILITY IS QUITE LIMITED WITH LIFTED INDICES ON THE POSITIVE
SIDE...SO SEVERE THREAT IS MININAL. ONLY MAJOR CONCERN IS THE
STRONG WINDS JUST OFF THE SURFACE WITH KHTX VWP SHOWING 30-35 KNOT
WINDS AT 3KFT MSL AND 50 KNOTS AT 4KFT MSL. WOULD NOT BE SUPRISED
IF AN ISOLATED STRONG DAMAGING GUSTS IS REPORTED WITH THIS BAND OF
SHOWERS AS IT MOVES NORTHEAST ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA.

ALSO...STRONG GRADIENT WINDS MAY TUMBLE SOME TREES ACROSS THE HIGHER
ELEVATIONS WHICH IS COVERED WITH A WIND ADVISORY.

CURRENT FORECAST LOOKS GOOD AND NO CHANGES PLANNED.

.MRX...
NC...WIND ADVISORY FOR THURSDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES NCZ060>061.
TN...WIND ADVISORY FOR THURSDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES
TNZ018...TNZ041...TNZ043...TNZ045...TNZ047...TNZ072...TNZ074...TNZ087
...TNZ102.
VA...WIND ADVISORY FOR THURSDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES VAZ001>002.

DH

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

14 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Blount/Smoky Mountains

When
November 29, 10:00 PM EST to November 30, 12:30 AM EST
Where
Blount/Smoky Mountains forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.687, -83.925 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Cocke/Smoky Mountains

When
November 29, 10:00 PM EST to November 30, 12:30 AM EST
Where
Cocke/Smoky Mountains forecast zone
Property damage
$19,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.925, -83.121 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, East Polk

When
November 29, 10:00 PM EST to November 30, 12:30 AM EST
Where
East Polk forecast zone
Property damage
$22,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.120, -84.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, North Sevier

When
November 29, 10:00 PM EST to November 30, 12:30 AM EST
Where
North Sevier forecast zone
Property damage
$16,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.785, -83.524 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Northwest Blount

When
November 29, 10:00 PM EST to November 30, 12:30 AM EST
Where
Northwest Blount forecast zone
Property damage
$19,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.687, -83.925 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Northwest Carter

When
November 29, 10:00 PM EST to November 30, 12:30 AM EST
Where
Northwest Carter forecast zone
Property damage
$23,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.293, -82.127 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Northwest Cocke

When
November 29, 10:00 PM EST to November 30, 12:30 AM EST
Where
Northwest Cocke forecast zone
Property damage
$21,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.925, -83.121 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Northwest Greene

When
November 29, 10:00 PM EST to November 30, 12:30 AM EST
Where
Northwest Greene forecast zone
Property damage
$18,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.175, -82.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Northwest Monroe

When
November 29, 10:00 PM EST to November 30, 12:30 AM EST
Where
Northwest Monroe forecast zone
Property damage
$21,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.443, -84.253 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Sevier/Smoky Mountains

When
November 29, 10:00 PM EST to November 30, 12:30 AM EST
Where
Sevier/Smoky Mountains forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.785, -83.524 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Southeast Carter

When
November 29, 10:00 PM EST to November 30, 12:30 AM EST
Where
Southeast Carter forecast zone
Property damage
$17,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.293, -82.127 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Southeast Greene

When
November 29, 10:00 PM EST to November 30, 12:30 AM EST
Where
Southeast Greene forecast zone
Property damage
$18,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.175, -82.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Southeast Monroe

When
November 29, 10:00 PM EST to November 30, 12:30 AM EST
Where
Southeast Monroe forecast zone
Property damage
$22,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.443, -84.253 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, West Polk

When
November 29, 10:00 PM EST to November 30, 12:30 AM EST
Where
West Polk forecast zone
Property damage
$23,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.120, -84.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Tennessee in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, November 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: 5271307, 5271308, 5271309, 5271310, 5271311, 5272593, 5272594, 5272595, 5272596, 5272597, 5272598, 5272599, 5272600, 5272601.