Damaging Wind in Tennessee, May 31, 2004

Name: Damaging Wind in Tennessee, May 31, 2004
Start: 2004-05-31T04:00
End: 2004-05-31T04:00
Location: Tennessee

May 31, 2004 · NWS MRX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Numerous trees were reported down across 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: $20,000
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 reported down across 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 May 31, 2:00 AM EST, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 2:00 AM EST, 2 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
300 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004

.DISCUSSION...AREA RADARS CURRENTLY SHOW WAVY LINE OF CONVECTION
APPROACHING THE WESTERN COUNTIES OF OUR FORECAST AREA. MODELS AND
SHORT RANGE ENSEMBLES GENERALLY AGREE THAT THIS LINE WILL BE NEAR
THE SPINE OF THE APPALACHIANS BY 12Z MONDAY. ANTICIPATE THAT PRECIP
BEHIND THE LINE WILL LINGER INTO THE FIRST PERIOD AND THUS WILL
CONTINUE HIGH LIKELY TO CATEGORICAL POPS EARLY IN THE PERIOD BEFORE
RAPIDLY DROPPING OFF THE POPS BY 18Z AS DRIER AIR IS USHERED INTO THE
AREA. REMAINDER OF THE WORK WEEK WILL BE DOMINATED BY GREAT
LAKES UPPER LOW THAT WILL ONLY SLOWLY MOVE EASTWARD. HEIGHTS WILL
FALL TO UNSEASONABLY LOW LEVELS AND SHORTWAVES ROTATING AROUND THE
UPPER LOW WILL PROVIDE OCCASIONAL UNSETTLED WEATHER. HOWEVER...
GENERALLY BENIGN WEATHER WILL BE THE RULE AS RELATIVELY DRY AIR
REMAINS ENTRENCHED OVER THE AREA.
&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Chattanooga, TN   81  59  85  60 /  70  10  10  10
Knoxville, TN     78  58  82  59 /  70  20  10  10
Bristol, TN       77  52  80  57 /  70  20  10  10
Oak Ridge, TN     79  57  83  59 /  70  10  10  10
&&

.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...TORNADO WATCH FOR EARLY THIS MORNING FOR NCZ060...NCZ061.
TN...TORNADO WATCH FOR EARLY THIS MORNING FOR ZONES TNC007...
TNC065...TNC115...TNC143...TNC153.

VA...TORNADO WATCH FOR THIS MORNING FOR ZONES VAC105...
VAC167...VAC169...VAC191...VAC195.

&&

LCM

Hazardous weather outlook, May 31, 4:00 AM EST, 0 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
500 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004

NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002-005-
006-008-010900-
ANDERSON-BLEDSOE-BLOUNT SMOKY MTN-BRADLEY-CAMPBELL-CHEROKEE-
CLAIBORNE-CLAY-COCKE SMOKY MTN-EAST POLK-GRAINGER-HAMBLEN-HAMILTON-
HANCOCK-HAWKINS-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-KNOX-LEE-LOUDON-MARION-MCMINN-
MEIGS-MORGAN-NORTH SEVIER-NORTHWEST CARTER-NORTHWEST COCKE-
NORTHWEST GREENE-NORTHWEST MONROE-NW BLOUNT-RHEA-ROANE-RUSSELL-
SCOTT TN-SCOTT VA-SEQUATCHIE-SEVIER SMOKY MTN-SOUTHEAST CARTER-
SOUTHEAST GREENE-SOUTHEAST MONROE-SULLIVAN-UNICOI-UNION-
WASHINGTON TN-WASHINGTON VA-WEST POLK-WISE-
500 AM EDT (400 AM CDT) MON MAY 31 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST TENNESSEE...SOUTHWEST
VIRGINIA AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA.

.DAY ONE (TODAY AND TONIGHT)...

THE COLD FRONT THAT CAUSED SEVERE WEATHER OVERNIGHT WILL CONTINUE TO
MOVE EAST OF THE APPALACHIANS...TAKING THE MOISTURE WITH IT. DRIER
AIR WILL FOLLOW THE FRONT AND GENERALLY TRANQUIL WEATHER IS
EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THUS...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS
EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN (TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY)...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.

PLEASE STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT
WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MRX.

LCM

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 31, 3:28 AM EST, 32 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
428 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0310 AM     TSTM WND DMG     PIKEVILLE               35.61N 85.20W
05/31/2004                   BLEDSOE            TN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            A FEW TREES DOWN.

&&

DAE

Local storm report, May 31, 3:30 AM EST, 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
430 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0335 AM     TSTM WND DMG     KNOXVILLE               35.97N 83.95W
05/31/2004                   KNOX               TN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            NUMEROUS TREES DOWN.

&&

DAE

Local storm report, May 31, 3:37 AM EST, 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
437 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0330 AM     TSTM WND DMG     TEN MILE                35.67N 84.67W
05/31/2004                   MEIGS              TN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            TREES DOWN.

0330 AM     FLASH FLOOD      SPRING CITY             35.69N 84.86W
05/31/2004                   RHEA               TN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            TREES DOWN.

&&

DAE

Local storm report, May 31, 3:49 AM EST, 11 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
449 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0310 AM     TSTM WND DMG     DEERLODGE               36.20N 84.76W
05/31/2004                   MORGAN             TN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            TREES DOWN.

0315 AM     TSTM WND DMG     MAYNARDVILLE            36.25N 83.81W
05/31/2004                   UNION              TN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            TREES DOWN.

0330 AM     TSTM WND DMG     LENOIR CITY             35.80N 84.27W
05/31/2004                   LOUDON             TN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            A FEW TREES DOWN.

&&

DAE

Local storm report, May 31, 3:52 AM EST, 8 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
452 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0415 AM     TSTM WND DMG     OCOEE DAM NUMBER 1      35.10N 84.65W
05/31/2004                   POLK               TN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            TREES DOWN.

&&

DAE

Local storm report, May 31, 3:57 AM EST, 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
457 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0330 AM     TSTM WND DMG     ROCKWOOD                35.87N 84.68W
05/31/2004                   ROANE              TN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            NUMEROUS TREES DOWN.

&&

DAE

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: May 31, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Cocke County, Newport
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
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 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Tennessee, May 2004

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: 5395444.