Tornado and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, April 26, 2007

Name: Tornado and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, April 26, 2007
Start: 2007-04-26T17:00
End: 2007-04-26T20:10
Location: Tennessee

April 26, 2007 · NWS MRX · 7 events in 4 counties and zones

A boundary across the region produced scattered supercell thunderstorms across the Cumberland Plateau. Damage was predominately caused by straight-line winds; however, an EF1 tornado tracked across Claiborne County for the second time this month.

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: 7
Property damage: $550,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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.

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 Apr 26, 2:20 PM EST, 2 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 26, 2:20 PM EST, 2 hours 40 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
320 PM EDT THU APR 26 2007

.SHORT TERM (TONIGHT AND FRIDAY)...FROM ALL ACCOUNTS AND FROM
INITIALIZATION...GFS IS THE MODEL OF CHOICE, THOUGH IN MANY RESPECTS
NAM IS SIMILAR. TIMING OF FRONTAL PASSAGE BETWEEN 00Z AND 06Z
TONIGHT LOOKS GOOD. FRONT APPEARS TO LIE OVER CENTRAL KY, ACROSS
MIDDLE TN, INTO NORTHERN AL WITH PRESSURE FALLING AHEAD AND
DEWPOINTS FALLING BEHIND. BAND OF RAIN ASSOCIATED WITH CONVERGENCE
AROUND PRE-FRONTAL TROUGH HAS MOVED FASTER THAN EXPECTED AND BECOME
MORE SPOTTY. SOME PLACES RECEIVED HEAVY RAIN FOR EXTENDED PERIODS
BUT SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE AND THE SOUTHERN CUMBERLAND PLATEAU NEEDED
THAT AND COULD SOAK IT UP. OTHERWISE ITS BEEN NICE SOAKER, MUCH
NEEDED.

HAVE LOWERED POPS TONIGHT AS DRY SLOT IN WV IMAGERY MOVES OVER AREA
AND FRONT MOVES OUT. HAVE ALSO DROPPED TEMPS A HAIR TONIGHT AS
CLOUDS THIN A LITTLE. ADJUSTED WINDS TO ACCOUNT FOR FRONTAL PASSAGE.

.LONG TERM (FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY)...UPPER LOW LIFTING OUT
OF AREA ON FRIDAY NIGHT WITH DECREASING MOISTURE BEHIND IT.  WILL
CARRY LOW CHANCE POPS FOR EVENING HOURS AND DRY AFTER MIDNIGHT.
MODELS BRING A SHORTWAVE INTO THE REGION ON SATURDAY.  WILL KEEP
CHANCE POPS FOR SATURDAY WITH HIGHEST CHANCES IN THE SOUTH WHERE
BEST MOISTURE TRACKS.  MOISTURE DECREASING BY SATURDAY NIGHT AS
SHORTWAVE TRACKS TO THE EAST...WILL KEEP CHANCE POPS FOR THE EVENING
HOURS THEN DRY AFTER MIDNIGHT.  RIDGE BUILDS IN ON SUNDAY BRINGING
DRY WEATHER FOR SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.  ANOTHER SHORTWAVE
APPROACHES THE AREA ON WEDNESDAY...WITH STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY ON
TIMING WILL KEEP ONLY 20 POPS FOR WEDNESDAY.  STATIONARY FRONT
LINGERS INTO THURSDAY...WITH STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY ON TIMING...WILL
KEEP ONLY SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FOR THURSDAY.  STAYED NEAR MAV/HPC
GUIDANCE FOR TEMPERATURES....

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
CHATTANOOGA AIRPORT, TN  54  70  51  70  50 /  50  30  20  40  20
KNOXVILLE MCGHEE TYSON AIRPORT, TN  56  68  50  70  49 /  60  30  20  30  20
OAK RIDGE, TN  55  69  49  70  49 /  60  30  20  30  20
TRI CITIES AIRPORT, TN  55  68  48  68  45 /  90  30  20  30  10

&&

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

BB/GH

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 26, 4:30 AM EST, 12 hours 30 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
530 AM EDT THU APR 26 2007

NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002-
005-006-008-271000-
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-
530 AM EDT (430 AM CDT) THU APR 26 2007

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME STRONG TO SEVERE THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. IN
ADDITION...AN ISOLATED TORNADO WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHEAST
TENNESSEE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TODAY.

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 108 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:59 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Morgan

When: April 26, 5:00 PM EST to 5:10 PM EST
Where: Morgan County, Wartburg
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 36.100, -84.600

Numerous trees down countywide.

Thunderstorm Wind, Morgan

When: April 26, 5:35 PM EST to 5:45 PM EST
Where: Morgan County, Wartburg
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 36.100, -84.600

Numerous trees down countywide.

Thunderstorm Wind, Anderson

When: April 26, 5:45 PM EST to 5:55 PM EST
Where: Anderson County, 0.56 mi W of Lake City to Lake City
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 36.220, -84.160

Numerous trees down near Lake City.

Thunderstorm Wind, Campbell

When: April 26, 6:10 PM EST to 6:20 PM EST
Where: Campbell County, La Follette
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 36.380, -84.130

Numerous trees down near La Follette.

Tornado, Claiborne

When: April 26, 6:52 PM EST to 7:15 PM EST
Where: Claiborne County, 1.31 mi WNW of Tazewell to New Tazewell
Rating: EF1
Path length: 4.6 mi
Path width: 75 yd
Injuries: 7 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $425,000
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey
Coordinates: 36.457, -83.592

An EF1 tornado touched down on Fords Chapel Road between New Hope Road and Barren Creek Road. A few trees were snapped in this area. The tornado tracked northeast along Barren Creek Road where multiple mobile homes were damaged, one blown over and destroyed. Tree damage was extensive along Barren Creek Road, with large trees both snapped and uprooted. Some homes were also damaged, with a patio roof blown back and shingles and siding blown off. The tornado tracked parallel to Highway 33, snapping trees and causing minor damage to homes in subdivisions on Mountain Road, Rutherford Drive, Harmon Road, and Rowe Street. The tornado crossed Highway 33 near the city limits of New Tazewell before dissipating.

Thunderstorm Wind, Morgan

When: April 26, 7:00 PM EST to 7:10 PM EST
Where: Morgan County, Wartburg
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 36.100, -84.600

Numerous trees down near Wartburg.

Thunderstorm Wind, Campbell

When: April 26, 8:00 PM EST to 8:10 PM EST
Where: Campbell County, La Follette
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 36.380, -84.130

A few trees down countywide.

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.
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 2007 Every state in 2007 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Tennessee, 2007 Warnings in Tennessee, April 2007

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: 25725, 25728, 25729, 25730, 25724, 25731, 25732.