Damaging Wind in Tennessee, August 28, 2003

Name: Damaging Wind in Tennessee, August 28, 2003
Start: 2003-08-28T04:00
End: 2003-08-28T04:00
Location: Tennessee

August 28, 2003 · NWS MRX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Numerous trees and power lines reported down by utility company across the western half 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: None recorded
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 and power lines reported down by utility company across the western half 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 28, 2:50 AM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 28, 2:50 AM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
350 AM EDT THU AUG 28 2003

THE FOLLOWING ARE THE FORECAST DISCUSSIONS FROM THE PAST 24 HOURS...
WITH THE MOST RECENT FIRST. THIS PROVIDES A HISTORY OF THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CURRENT FORECAST.

*********************************************************************
EARLY MORNING FORECAST DISCUSSION
350 AM EDT THU AUG 28 2003

CURRENT SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS A QUASI-STATIONARY FRONT ACROSS THE
OHIO RIVER VALLEY...WITH KMRX RADAR SHOWING SOME ISOLATED SEVERE
TSTORMS OCCURRING OVER NORTHEAST TN AS A WEAK SHORT WAVE MOVES ACROSS
THE AREA. SOUNDINGS INDICATE THAT A VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS
IS IN PLACE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA...AND WILL REMAIN SO THROUGH
EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE STATIONARY FRONT OVER THE OHIO VALLEY IS PROGGED
TO SLOWLY MOVE NORTHEAST AS A WARM FRONT LATER TODAY. HOWEVER...
ANOTHER COLD FRONT (CURRENTLY ALONG THE FRONT RANGE OF THE ROCKIES)
IS PROGGED TO SLOWLY MOVE EAST OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS...APPROACHING
THE TENNESSEE VALLEY BY FRIDAY NIGHT. SINCE THE UPPER-LEVEL FLOW IS
PROGGED TO REMAIN ZONAL ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES REGION THROUGH THE
WEEKEND...THIS FRONT IS EXPECTED TO BECOME QUASI-STATIONARY ACROSS
THE TENNESSEE VALLEY THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. THUS...AN
UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN WITH SCATTERED CONVECTION DEVELOPING EACH
DAY LOOKS TO REMAIN ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH EARLY NEXT
WEEK.

AS FOR TEMPS...WILL GENERALLY FOLLOW A PERSISTENCE FORECAST IN
REGARDS TO MIN TEMPS THROUGH THE WEEKEND. MAX TEMPS WILL LIKELY
CONTINUE A TREND OF BECOMING A DEGREE OR TWO COOLER EACH DAY...AS
CLOUD COVER AND THE AREAL COVERAGE OF CONVECTION SLOWLY INCREASES.

THE FOLLOWING NUMBERS ARE PRELIMINARY AND FOR COORDINATION ONLY:

CHA   90  70  89  70 /  30  30  30  30
TYS   89  70  88  70 /  30  30  30  30
TRI   87  67  86  67 /  30  30  30  30
OQT   89  70  88  70 /  30  30  30  30

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

DMG

*********************************************************************
EVENING FORECAST DISCUSSION (UPDATE)
930 PM EDT WED AUG 27 2003

DIURNAL THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DIMINISHED AND WILL UPDATE FORECAST TO
REFLECT THIS DECREASE.  ADDED PATCHY MORNING FOG.  NO OTHER CHANGES
PLANNED.

*********************************************************************
AFTERNOON FORECAST DISCUSSION
330 PM EDT WED AUG 27 2003

TONIGHT AND THURSDAY...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER
THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU THIS AFTERNOON IN RESPONSE TO A DESTABILIZING
ATMOSPHERE...SUFFICIENT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND DIURNAL HEATING.
THESE STORMS WILL MOVE SLOWLY EAST TO NORTHEAST THROUGHOUT THE
EVENING HOURS...AND SHOULD DISSIPATE OVERNIGHT.  LITTLE CHANCE IN
THE WEATHER PATTERN IS EXPECTED ON THURSDAY WITH CONTINUE WARM AND
HUMID CONDITIONS.  THE UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN THE
DOMINATE FEATURE WITH A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS IN PLACE.  THIS
WILL ALLOW ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS TO FORM OVER THE
AREA THURSDAY AFTERNOON.

COLD FRONT ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY WILL SLOWLY MOVE TOWARD THE
FORECAST AREA INTO THE WEEKEND CONTINUING THE CHANCE OF MAINLY
DIURNAL (AFTERNOON/EVENING) SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH
SATURDAY. MODELS SHOW A WAVE DEVELOPING ALONG THE FRONT FOR SATURDAY
NIGHT AND SUNDAY.  THE WAVE WILL HELP STALL THE FRONT ACROSS THE
FORECAST AREA AND PULL NORTH INTO VA/KY FOR SUNDAY.  THE WAVE WILL
PULL NORTH ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY FOR LATE SUNDAY AND MONDAY.
DEPENDING OF THE EXACT TRACT OF THE LOW...A ROUND OF HEAVY RAINFALL
IS POSSIBLE EARLY NEXT WEEK.

CHA   70  88  71  89 /  40  30  30  40
TYS   70  87  70  88 /  30  20  20  40
TRI   68  86  65  85 /  20  20  20  40
OQT   70  87  70  88 /  30  20  20  40

MB/DH

*********************************************************************
LATE MORNING FORECAST DISCUSSION (UPDATE)
1051 AM EDT WED AUG 27 2003

13Z SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWED A COLD FRONT ACROSS N MO...S CENTRAL
PARTS OF IL AND IN AND INTO NORTHERN OH. HIGH PRESSURE WAS CENTERED
OVER THE SE. ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED EARLIER
THIS MORNING OVER PARTS OF W MIDDLE TN...BUT CURRENTLY THE
INTENSITIES HAVE BEGUN TO DIMINISH.

850 MB 12Z ANALYSIS SHOWED HIGHEST DEW POINTS ACROSS MIDDLE TN...
AND EXTENDING SW INTO MS AND LA...WITH WIND FIELDS EXHIBITING SOME
CONFLUENT FLOW INTO THE MID STATE...PROBABLY HELPING TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF CONVECTION OVERNIGHT. NOT AS MUCH MOISTURE AT 700 MB
LEVEL THIS MORNING AS IN LOWER LEVELS PER THE NASHVILLE SOUNDING.

STABILITY INFORMATION AND CURRENT DISTRIBUTION OF MOISTURE MAKES IT
APPARENT THAT THERE WILL BE MORE SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT
LATER TODAY...BUT MAINLY WEST OF THE AREA.

CURRENT RUC MODEL FORECASTS FRONT TO CONTINUE SAGGING SLOWLY S ACROSS
IL AND IN...AND A BIT FASTER FURTHER TO THE E DUE TO THE MORE NWLY
FLOW ALOFT THERE. IT ALSO FORECASTS QUITE A BIT OF RAINFALL OVER
PARTS OF MIDDLE AND INTO E TN BY MID AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...THIS
APPEARS TO BE OVERDONE...CONSIDERING LITTLE DYNAMICS AVAILABLE.
HEATING AND TOPOGRAPHIC EFFECTS WILL LIKELY DRIVE ANY PRECIP THAT
OCCURS THIS AFTERNOON.

WILL UPDATE CURRENT FORECASTS TO CLEAN UP WORDING...BUT OTHER THAN
THAT...LITTLE IF ANY CHANGES ARE PLANNED AT THIS TIME.

STEIGERWALDT

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 28, 2:16 AM EST, 1 hour 44 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
316 AM EDT THU AUG 28 2003

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

0240 AM    10S GREENEVILLE           TN   WIND DAMAGE
08/28/03   GREENE                         NUMEROUS TREES DOWN IN
                                          SOUTHERN PORTION OF
                                          COUNTY. REPORTED BY
                                          SHERIFFS DISPATCH.

0245 AM    GREENEVILLE               TN   WIND DAMAGE
08/28/03   GREENE                         1 TREE DOWN IN SHERIFFS
                                          OFFICE PARKING LOT.
                                          REPORTED BY SHERIFFS
                                          DISPATCH.

Local storm report, Aug 28, 2:35 AM EST, 1 hour 25 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
335 AM EDT THU AUG 28 2003

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

0330 AM    CHUCKEY                   TN   0.75 IN HAIL
08/28/03   GREENE                         3/4 INCH HAIL FALLING AT
                                          THE TIME IN CHUCKEY.
                                          REPORTED BY PUBLIC.

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 31 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:59 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Cocke

When: August 28, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Cocke County, Newport
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: UTILITY COMPANY
Coordinates: 35.950, -83.183

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

Every storm in Tennessee in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Tennessee, August 2003

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: 5378479.