Tornadoes in Tennessee, May 11, 2003

Name: Tornadoes in Tennessee, May 11, 2003
Start: 2003-05-11T02:12
End: 2003-05-11T02:52
Location: Tennessee

May 11, 2003 · NWS OHX · 6 events in 5 counties and zones

6 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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: 1
Property damage: $5.0 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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 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 Nashville, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 11, 1:30 AM CST, 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 11, 1:30 AM CST, 42 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
230 AM CDT SUN MAY 11 2003

TORNADO BOX IN EFFECT UNTIL 10Z THIS MORNING ACROSS A GOOD PART
OF MID STATE.

CURRENTLY A LINE OF STORMS...SOME POSSIBLY SEVERE...STRETCHES FROM
DOVER SOUTHWEST ACROSS ERIN AND WAVERLY THEN DOWN INTO WESTERN TN.

LATEST RUC MODEL HANDLING THIS SYSTEM FAIRLY WELL IN THE SHORT TERM.

SQUALL LINE AND ATTENDANT FRONT SHOULD WORK EASTWARD ACROSS THE MID
STATE AND SWEEP BASICALLY EAST OF MID STATE BY 14Z THIS MORNING.

ETA MODEL SHOWS GOOD RUN TO RUN CONTINUITY AND BASICALLY WILL USE
FOR FORECAST.

PRELIMINARY NUMBERS:
NASHVILLE  75 52 72 48 74  3000
CROSSVILLE 73 49 68 44 70  7000

.BNA...NONE.

BOYD
01

Hazardous weather outlook, May 10, 2:53 PM CST, 11 hours 19 minutes before

TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075>080-093>097-110500-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
353 PM CDT SAT MAY 10 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING

YOU CAN EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE LATE
TONIGHT...SOME OF WHICH WILL LIKELY BECOME SEVERE...WITH
DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO
POSSIBLE. YOU SHOULD STAY TUNED TO A RELIABLE SOURCE OF WEATHER
INFORMATION THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT...AND BE READY TO TAKE ACTION
IF SEVERE WEATHER WARNINGS ARE ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA. THE
THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL ALSO LINGER INTO EARLY SUNDAY
MORNING...PROBABLY UNTIL AROUND 900 AM OR SO.

RIVER FLOODING WILL ALSO REMAIN A PROBLEM INTO THE NIGHT FOR SEVERAL
COUNTIES IN WESTERN AND SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE...WITH RIVERS
EXPECTED TO REMAIN OUT OF THEIR BANKS. THROUGH TONIGHT RAINFALL
AMOUNTS WILL GENERALLY AVERAGE AROUND ONE-QUARTER TO ONE HALF
INCH...WITH HEAVIER AMOUNTS IN ISOLATED STRONGER STORMS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY

THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY THROUGH
FRIDAY...AND ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS ARE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY
AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD REMAIN ALERT
THROUGH TONIGHT AND BE READY SHOULD ACTIVATION BE REQUIRED.

19

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 11, 2:03 AM CST, 9 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
0303 AM CDT SUN MAY 11 2003

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

0249 AM    CENTERVILLE               TN   WIND DAMAGE
05/11/03   HICKMAN                        TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN
                                          IN THE CITY LIMITS OF
                                          CENTERVILLE REPORTED BY THE
                                          MEDIA AND CENTERVILLE
                                          POLICE.

MED

The radar

The Nashville radar (KOHX), 36 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:13 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Davidson

When: May 11, 2:12 AM CST to 2:17 AM CST
Where: Davidson County, 5 mi NE of Nashville
Rating: F1
Path length: 4.5 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Property damage: $500,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 35.950, -86.400

There was damage to the roofs of homes and businesses. Several businesses had their signs damaged as well. The Davidson County tornado started about 5.3 miles northeast of downtown Nashville near Riverwood Drive. The tornado crossed the Cumberland River and affected the Opryland area and dissipated around Bonnameade Road or about 8.9 miles east northeast of downtown Nashville.

Tornado, Wilson

When: May 11, 2:20 AM CST to 2:25 AM CST
Where: Wilson County, 2 mi NW of Mt Juliet
Rating: F1
Path length: 3.6 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Property damage: $500,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 36.183, -86.767

This was part of the same storm complex that struck Davidson County. This tornado travelled down Lebanon Pike. Many trees were blown down. A car wash was demolished. There was damage to roofs and business signs. Mt. Juliet does not have any tornado sirens, but 3 sirens have been ordered.

Tornado, Williamson

When: May 11, 2:20 AM CST to 2:22 AM CST
Where: Williamson County, 5 mi WNW of Franklin
Rating: F3
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.2 million
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 36.367, -86.500

43 homes were damaged and 3 homes were destroyed in Williamson County by the tornado. 28 units in the Executive House condominium complex in Franklin had to be evacuated after the roof was torn away. Crews worked Sunday to free people trapped inside their homes by fallen trees on Big East Fork Rd. Most of the damage to homes was roof damage and trees falling on houses.An 84-year-old grandmother was rescued from a demolished 3-story home at 1933 Old Hillsoboro Rd. She received a fractured pelvic bone.

Tornado, Williamson

When: May 11, 2:30 AM CST to 2:31 AM CST
Where: Williamson County, 1 mi SW of Nolensville
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 35.950, -86.983

Trees were snapped and uprooted at intersection of Burke Hollow Road and Clovercroft Road.

Tornado, Sumner

When: May 11, 2:40 AM CST to 2:46 AM CST
Where: Sumner County, 4 mi SW of Gallatin
Rating: F1
Path length: 5.5 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 36.217, -86.550

Many trees were blown down along with considerable roof damage to homes. 147 houses and 18 mobile homes were damaged along with 2 businesses. A 36-foot RV parked behind a duplex on Connie Drive was turned upside down. Other areas that were hit hard were on Nicholas Lane, Lock 4 Road, Woodvale Subdivision, Drivers Lane and Peach Valley Road.

Tornado, Rutherford

When: May 11, 2:50 AM CST to 2:52 AM CST
Where: Rutherford County, Walterhill
Rating: F3
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 400 yd
Property damage: $1.8 million
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 35.933, -86.700

At least 18 homes were destroyed and dozens more were damaged from the tornado. There was considerable damage at the Roanoke Subdivision. The old Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, located on Holly Grove Road which is just northeast of Walter Hill, will have to be torn down because of the tornado damage. The church has been at that location for more than 100 years.

What these are

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.

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 The tornado archive for Tennessee, 2003 Warnings in Tennessee, May 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: 5356643, 5356644, 5357401, 5356641, 5356645, 5356642.