Damaging Wind in Tennessee, May 20, 2006

Name: Damaging Wind in Tennessee, May 20, 2006
Start: 2006-05-20T20:20
End: 2006-05-20T20:30
Location: Tennessee

May 20, 2006 · NWS MRX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A few trees and large limbs were reported down across roads in the south 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: $10,000
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.

A few trees and large limbs were reported down across roads in the south 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 May 20, 8:20 PM CST, 0 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 20, 8:20 PM CST, 0 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
1020 PM EDT SAT MAY 20 2006

STORMS CONTINUE ACROSS SOUTHERN PARTS OF AREA.  STILL QUITE
UNSTABLE...BUT SEVERE STORMS ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE CONFINED
FARTHER AND FARTHER SOUTH EACH HOUR.  LOW TEMPS LOOK LIKE THEY WILL
BE OKAY.  RIGHT NOW DEW POINT TOO HIGH FOR LOW TEMPS...BUT AS
FRONTAL BOUNDARY SAGS SOUTHWARD DEW POINT SHOULD DRY UP ENOUGH TO
ALLOW MORE COOLING.

THINK THAT FRONT IS FARTHER NORTH EAST OF THE PLATEAU.  SO
DEVELOPMENT OF ADDITIONAL CONVECTION NORTH OF KCHA HAPPENING.  DONT
THINK THERE WILL BE MUCH DEEP CONVECTION OF ANY CONSEQUENCE ANY
FARTHER NORTH THAN THIS AREA...THAT IS...MAINLY SOUTHERN TWO TIERS
OF COUNTIES IN TN.  ALSO WOULD EXPECT THIS AREA OF POTENTIAL TO
DIMINISH NORTH TO SOUTH OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS.

ALTHOUGH NIGHTTIME COOLING NOW OCCURRING...UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE
TO THE NORTH HELPING TO COOL MID LEVELS TO KEEP CONDITIONS UNSTABLE.

&&

.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...NONE.
TN...NONE.
VA...NONE.
&&

GM

Hazardous weather outlook, May 20, 2:40 AM CST, 17 hours 40 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
440 AM EDT SAT MAY 20 2006

NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002-
005-006-008-211000-
CHEROKEE-CLAY-SCOTT TN-CAMPBELL-CLAIBORNE-HANCOCK-HAWKINS-
SULLIVAN-JOHNSON-MORGAN-ANDERSON-UNION-GRAINGER-HAMBLEN-
NORTHWEST COCKE-COCKE SMOKY MOUNTAINS-NORTHWEST GREENE-
SOUTHEAST GREENE-WASHINGTON TN-UNICOI-NORTHWEST CARTER-
SOUTHEAST CARTER-ROANE-LOUDON-KNOX-JEFFERSON-NW BLOUNT-
BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS-NORTH SEVIER-SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS-
SEQUATCHIE-BLEDSOE-RHEA-MEIGS-MCMINN-NORTHWEST MONROE-
SOUTHEAST MONROE-MARION-HAMILTON-BRADLEY-WEST POLK-EAST POLK-LEE-
WISE-SCOTT-RUSSELL-WASHINGTON-
440 AM EDT (340 AM CDT) SAT MAY 20 2006

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT
...A CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF
OF TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING...

A STATIONARY FRONT WILL REMAIN ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AND SOUTHERN
APPALACHIANS TODAY PROVIDING A FOCUS FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.
WARM...MOIST AND INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE AIRMASS ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE
FRONT CAN BE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON.  AS A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL
DISTURBANCES RIDE SOUTHEAST ALONG THE STALLED FRONTAL BOUNDARY...
THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOPED.  DUE TO THE EXPECTED VERY UNSTABLE AIR-
MASS ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE FRONT...SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME
SEVERE...GENERALLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40. THE MAIN
CONCERN WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

A STATIONARY FRONT WILL LINGER AROUND THE TENNESSEE RIVER VALLEY
THROUGH NEXT WEEK...WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE EACH
DAY...MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. WHILE
WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME...SOME SEVERE
STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AT TIMES EACH DAY THROUGHOUT THE UPCOMING
WEEK. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGING
WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING.

DH

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 20, 7:18 PM CST, 1 hour 2 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
918 PM EDT SAT MAY 20 2006

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

0915 PM     HAIL             ANDREWS                 35.20N 83.82W
05/20/2006  E0.75 INCH       CHEROKEE           NC   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

Local storm report, May 20, 7:19 PM CST, 1 hour 1 minute before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
919 PM EDT SAT MAY 20 2006

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

0918 PM     HAIL             ANDREWS                 35.20N 83.82W
05/20/2006  E1.00 INCH       CHEROKEE           NC   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

Local storm report, May 20, 7:23 PM CST, 57 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
923 PM EDT SAT MAY 20 2006

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

0920 PM     HAIL             1 E ETOWAH              35.33N 84.51W
05/20/2006  E1.00 INCH       MCMINN             TN   AMATEUR RADIO

&&

Local storm report, May 20, 7:30 PM CST, 50 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
930 PM EDT SAT MAY 20 2006

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

0926 PM     HAIL             ENGLEWOOD               35.42N 84.49W
05/20/2006  E1.75 INCH       MCMINN             TN   AMATEUR RADIO

&&

Local storm report, May 20, 7:49 PM CST, 31 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
949 PM EDT SAT MAY 20 2006

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

0840 PM     TSTM WND DMG     TEN MILE                35.67N 84.67W
05/20/2006                   MEIGS              TN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            FEW TREES DOWN.

&&

Local storm report, May 20, 8:11 PM CST, 9 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
1011 PM EDT SAT MAY 20 2006

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

1000 PM     HAIL             HIAWASSE DAM            35.15N 84.17W
05/20/2006  E0.88 INCH       CHEROKEE           NC   LAW ENFORCEMENT

&&

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 76 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:20 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Sequatchie

When: May 20, 8:20 PM CST to 8:30 PM CST
Where: Sequatchie County, South Portion
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 35.300, -85.383

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 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in Tennessee, May 2006

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: 5510282.