Tennessee, 2002

Damaging Wind in Tennessee, August 26, 2002

August 26, 2002 · NWS MRX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Numerous trees were downed across the southern part of the county.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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
$15,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

Numerous trees were downed across the southern part of the county.

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 Aug 26, 6:45 PM EST, 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 26, 6:45 PM EST, 8 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
745 PM EDT MON AUG 26 2002

THE FOLLOWING ARE ALL THE FORECAST DISCUSSIONS FROM THE PAST 24
HOURS...WITH THE MOST RECENT ON TOP. THIS PROVIDES A HISTORY OF THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CURRENT FORECAST.
********************************************************************
EARLY EVENING FORECAST DISCUSSION
745 PM EDT MON AUG 26 2002

WILL UPDATE ZONES TO REMOVE AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORM WORDING IN
NORTHEAST TENNESSEE/SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA ZONES.  WILL LOOK AT OTHER
UPDATES LATER THIS EVENING.

*******************************************************************

AFTERNOON FORECAST DISCUSSION
335 PM EDT MON AUG 26 2002

MODELS AGREE ON UPPER LOW TRACK.  WILL KEEP A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE AREA THROUGH SATURDAY.  WILL SEE NEAR NORMAL
TEMPERATURES THROUGH THIS PERIOD.  IT IS DIFFICULT TO PIN DOWN THE
TIMING FOR THE MAIN AREAS OF PRECIPITATION THAT WE EXPECT OVER THE
NEXT 48 HOURS.  MUST ADMIT THAT THE EXACT LOCATIONS OF THE
CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT OVER THAT LAST 24 HOURS WERE NOT NAILED IN
ADVANCE.  THE ENTIRE AREA IS UNSTABLE...AND THE TRIGGERING
MECHANISMS RANGE FROM OROGRAPHY TO OLD OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES TO SUNNY
SPOTS THAT OCCUR IN AREAS THAT DIDNT HAPPEN TO GET OVERNIGHT
CONVECTION.  IN THIS SCENARIO...PRECISION IS TRICKY.  HAVE GENERALLY
TRENDED WITH THE HIGHER POPS TO THE NORTH BASED ON UPSLOPE AND LOW
LEVEL CONVERGENCE SIGNATURES IN MOST MODEL DATA...BUT AM SURE WILL
SEE MORE COVERAGE IN SOME OTHER AREA SOMETIME DURING THE FORECAST
PERIOD.

CHA   67  86  67  85 /  20  40  30  40
TYS   66  84  66  82 /  30  50  40  50
TRI   65  80  65  79 /  40  60  50  50
OQT   65  84  65  82 /  30  50  40  50

.MRX...
NC...NONE.
TN...NONE.
VA...NONE.

PARKER

*********************************************************************
MORNING FORECAST DISCUSSION
957 AM EDT MON AUG 26 2002

FORECAST CALLS FOR MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES...WHICH SHOULD MATERIALIZE IN
THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS AS THE SUN WARMS THE WET GROUND AND CU POPS
UP EVERYWHERE.  STILL FEEL POPS ARE WARRANTED AND CHANCES BEST IN
THE NORTH...SO NO UPDATE PLANNED AT THIS TIME.  WILL MONITOR TEMPS
AND ISSUE LATER UPDATE IF MAXES WILL NOT BE REACHED.

.MRX...
NC...NONE.
TN...NONE.
VA...NONE.

29

*********************************************************************
EARLY MORNING FORECAST DISCUSSION
310 AM EDT MON AUG 26 2002

MODELS CONTINUE TO PROJECT AN UPPER LOW TO DEVELOP AND REMAIN
ESSENTIALLY STATIONARY OVER THE KY/TN REGION THROUGH MID WEEK. THIS
FEATURE WILL INDUCE UNSETTLED WEATHER FOR THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS.
AXIS OF BEST MOISTURE WILL REMAIN EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA AND AS
SUCH THE BEST COVERAGE OF PRECIP IS EXPECTED TO BE IN OUR
NORTHEASTERN ZONES...WITH A GRADUAL GRADATION TO LOWER POPS IN THE
SOUTHWESTERN ZONES. THE UPPER LOW IS PROJECTED TO DRIFT SOUTH THROUGH
THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK BUT OUR FORECAST AREA WILL BE LEFT IN A MOIST
REGIME AS ITS LEGACY.

MORE CLIMATOLOGICALLY SEASONAL TEMPS ARE ALSO IN STORE AS A
RESULT OF MORE CLOUD COVER AND LOWERING HEIGHTS ASSOCIATED WITH
UPPER LOW. GUIDANCE TEMPS GENERALLY AGREE AND APPEAR REASONABLE.
FOLLOWED THOSE NUMBERS CLOSELY FOR THE MOST PART.

PRELIMINARY TEMPS AND POPS FOLLOW FOR COORDINATION:

CHA   89  69  88  68 /  40  30  40  30
TYS   85  66  84  65 /  50  40  50  40
TRI   79  63  79  62 /  70  50  60  50
OQT   85  65  84  65 /  40  30  50  40

LCM

********************************************************************
EVENING FORECAST DISCUSSION (UPDATE)
845 PM EDT SUN AUG 25 2002

ONGOING SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE PAST MIDNIGHT AND WITH LIS FORECAST
TO STAY NEGATIVE ALL NIGHT AND MULTIPLE OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES TO WORK
FROM REDEVELOPMENT IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION.  WITH THIS IN
MIND...NO CHANGES PLANNED TO THE CURRENT FORECAST.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 26, 6:50 PM EST, 3 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
750 PM EDT MON AUG 26 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0655 PM    WHITWELL                  TN   1.00 IN HAIL
08/26/02   MARION                         REPORTED BY THE POLICE
                                          DEPARTMENT.

0655 PM    POWELLS CROSSROADS        TN   WIND DAMAGE
08/26/02   MARION                         TIME OF OCCURRENCE TO BE
                                          DETERMINED. REPORTED BY
                                          MARION COUNTY EMA.
                                          NUMEROUS TREES AND
                                          POWERLINES DOWN.

0725 PM    CHATTANOOGA               TN   1.00 IN HAIL
08/26/02   HAMILTON                       REPORTED BY SPOTTER ALONG
                                          HWY 153 AND BONNEY OAKES
                                          DRIVE.

0735 PM    CHATTANOOGA               TN   58 MPH TSTM GUST
08/26/02   HAMILTON                       SPOTTER REPORTED PENNY
                                          SIZE HAIL AND 58 MPH WIND
                                          GUST NEAR HAMILTON PLACE
                                          MALL EAST OF I75.

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 111 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:53 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Bradley

When
August 26, 6:53 PM EST
Where
Bradley County, 5 mi S of Cleveland
Property damage
$15,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.100, -84.883

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Tennessee in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, August 2002

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: 5317302.