An stagnant upper ridge brought a prolonged period of excessive heat to east Tennessee.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS MRX wrote it up.
An stagnant upper ridge brought a prolonged period of excessive heat to east Tennessee.
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 3, 8:29 PM EST, 3 hours 31 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 929 PM EDT FRI AUG 3 2007 .DISCUSSION...RADAR SHOWING SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS QUICKLY DISSIPATING. PRECIPITATION SHOULD BE OVER BY MIDNIGHT... WILL UPDATE ZONES AND REMOVE CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION. TEMPERATURES AND THE REST OF THE FORECAST ON TRACK...NO OTHER CHANGES NEEDED. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... .SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT AND SATURDAY)...A LARGE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT...CURRENTLY CENTERED ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS WILL SLOWLY BUILD EAST INTO THE AREA. END RESULT WILL BE SLOWLY INCREASING THICKNESS AND HEIGHTS WITH HOT CONDITIONS ANTICIPATED OVER THE WEEKEND PRODUCING AFTERNOON HEAT INDICES BETWEEN 95 AND 105 DEGREES. TYPICAL SUMMER-TIME MOISTURE WILL COMBINED WITH AFTERNOON HEATING TO PRODUCE ISOLATED-WIDELY SCATTERED CONVECTION...MAINLY OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... CHATTANOOGA AIRPORT, TN 71 96 71 93 73 / 20 10 10 20 20 KNOXVILLE AIRPORT, TN 67 93 69 92 73 / 20 10 10 20 20 OAK RIDGE, TN 65 94 70 92 72 / 20 10 10 20 20 TRI CITIES AIRPORT, TN 63 91 65 91 67 / 20 10 10 30 20 && .MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...NONE. TN...NONE. VA...NONE. && GH/DH
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 900 AM EDT FRI AUG 3 2007 UPDATED TO INCLUDE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-040945- 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- 900 AM EDT FRI AUG 3 2007 /800 AM CDT FRI AUG 3 2007/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT ...A RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER EXISTS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... PLENTY OF DAYTIME HEATING AND MOISTURE WILL ONCE AGAIN PRODUCE VERY UNSTABLE UNSTABLE CONDITIONS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS TODAY. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS BY EARLY THIS AFTERNOON THEN SPREAD INTO THE VALLEYS. SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH THE MAIN CONCERN BEING DAMAGING DOWNBURSTS WINDS...HAIL UP TO QUARTER SIZE...AND LOCALIZED TORRENTIAL RAINFALL AND FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS EAST TENNESSEE...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA...AND SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA. DH
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
712 PM EDT FRI AUG 03 2007
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0635 PM TSTM WND DMG KNOXVILLE 35.97N 83.95W
08/03/2007 KNOX TN LAW ENFORCEMENT
ONE TREE DOWN ON SHALLOWFORD RD. NUMEROUS POWERLINES DOWN
IN AND AROUND KNOXVILLE. REPORTED BY DISPATCH.
&&
GRCSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 1051 PM EDT FRI AUG 3 2007 VAZ001-040330- LEE- 1051 PM EDT FRI AUG 3 2007 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS AFFECTING LEE COUNTY... AT 1048 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR PENNINGTON GAP...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 10 TO 15 MPH. PEA SIZE HAIL...AND WINDS GUSTING TO AROUND 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. IN ADDITION TO SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS...CONTINUOUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM. MOVE INDOORS IMMEDIATELY LIGHTNING IS ONE OF NATURES PRIMARY KILLERS. REMEMBER... IF YOU CAN HEAR THUNDER...YOU ARE CLOSE ENOUGH TO BE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS...IN EXCESS OF ONE INCH PER HOUR...MAY OCCUR WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR PONDING OF WATER ON ROADWAYS...AND POSSIBLE MINOR FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS. DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH. TURN AROUND DONT DROWN STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES. TG
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 excessive heat. Local standard time, as filed.
During the period, Chattanooga experienced temperatures at or above 94 degrees for 25 straight days, including 9 days over 100 degrees. Five record highs temperatures were also broken.
During the period, Tri-Cities Regional Airport experienced temperatures at or above 91 degrees for 20 straight days. Four record highs temperatures were also broken.
During the period, McGhee Tyson Airport experienced temperatures at or above 93 degrees for 23 straight days, including 3 days over 100 degrees. Five record highs temperatures were also broken.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, August 2007
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: 54650, 54657, 54654.