A freezing rain advisory was in effect for several counties across Middle Tennessee on December 16th as a strong cold front ushered in a colder air across the midstate on December 15th.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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 OHX wrote it up.
A freezing rain advisory was in effect for several counties across Middle Tennessee on December 16th as a strong cold front ushered in a colder air across the midstate on December 15th.
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 Dec 15, 2:44 PM CST, 1 hour 16 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 244 PM CST MON DEC 15 2008 .SHORT TERM...(THRU WED NITE) CURRENT...CLOUDY RAINY DAY WITH TEMPS PLUNGING AFTER FROPA. ALREADY 28 AT CKV...BUT PRECIP HAS ENDED THERE MOMENTARILY. NEXT BATCH ALREADY INCREASING IN STRENGTH/COVERAGE W AR-S IN. THIS BATCH WILL MOVE INTO MID STATE OVERNITE...AND EXPECTING A MESS WITH ZR. LOOKING AT NEW TEMP PROFILES...WILL INCLUDE A FEW MORE SW AND SCNTRL COUNTIES IN ADVISORY...AND CONTINUE WARNING FOR NW. THIS WILL DIMINISH BY MID TO LATE MORNING TUE...AFTER WHICH TEMPS WILL REMAIN PRETTY COLD AND WEATHER UNSETTLED INTO WED NITE...WITH ANOTHER WEAK FROPA TUE NITE/WED. WARM FRONT MOVES N INTO CWA WED NITE. && .LONG TERM... A BIT OF A WARM-UP ON THU AHEAD OF NEXT FRONT ON FRI. WEEKEND LOOKS VERY MUCH UP IN AIR AS EURO AND GFS WIDELY DIVERGENT. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... NASHVILLE 31 40 39 48 / 90 80 70 50 CLARKSVILLE 27 34 33 42 / 90 80 70 40 CROSSVILLE 36 47 46 55 / 90 70 70 60 COLUMBIA 33 42 41 52 / 90 80 70 50 LAWRENCEBURG 33 44 43 53 / 90 80 70 50 WAVERLY 29 35 34 44 / 90 80 70 40 && .OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ICE STORM WARNING UNTIL 9 AM CST TUESDAY FOR TNZ005>007-022>026. FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 9 AM CST TUESDAY FOR TNZ008-009-027>029-056>062-093>095. && 17/MAG
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 501 AM CST MON DEC 15 2008 TNZ010-011-030>034-061>066-075-077>080-093>095-161130- CLAY-PICKETT-SMITH-JACKSON-PUTNAM-OVERTON-FENTRESS-MARSHALL- RUTHERFORD-CANNON-DEKALB-WHITE-CUMBERLAND-BEDFORD-COFFEE-WARREN- GRUNDY-VAN BUREN-WAYNE-LAWRENCE-GILES- 501 AM CST MON DEC 15 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. TNZ008-009-027>029-056>060-161130- SUMNER-MACON-DAVIDSON-WILSON-TROUSDALE-PERRY-HICKMAN-LEWIS- WILLIAMSON-MAURY- 501 AM CST MON DEC 15 2008 ...FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 9 AM CST TUESDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL PASS THROUGH THE MID STATE TODAY, BRINGING RAIN AND SHARPLY COLDER TEMPERATURES, WITH READINGS IN MANY PLACES DROPPING TO FREEZING BY MIDNIGHT. FREEZING RAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT WILL PRODUCE ICE ACCUMULATION OF AROUND ONE TENTH OF IN INCH IN SOME AREAS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THE FREEZING RAIN IS EXPECTED TO LAST UNTIL MID-MORNING TUESDAY, WHEN TEMPERATURES WILL RISE BACK ABOVE FREEZING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS AND LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY ICE ACCUMULATIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE. TNZ005>007-022>026-161130- STEWART-MONTGOMERY-ROBERTSON-BENTON-HOUSTON-HUMPHREYS-DICKSON- CHEATHAM- 501 AM CST MON DEC 15 2008 ...ICE STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 9 AM CST TUESDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL PASS THROUGH THE MID STATE TODAY, BRINGING RAIN AND SHARPLY COLDER TEMPERATURES, WITH READINGS IN MANY PLACES DROPPING TO FREEZING BY LATE AFTERNOON. AT THIS POINT, THE RAIN WILL BEGIN TO FREEZE ON SURFACES. BY LATE TONIGHT, ICE ACCUMULATIONS MAY REACH ONE QUARTER TO ONE HALF INCH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THE FREEZING RAIN IS EXPECTED TO LAST UNTIL MID-MORNING TUESDAY, WHEN TEMPERATURES WILL RISE BACK ABOVE FREEZING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS AND LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY ICE ACCUMULATIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE. ROSE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Ice accumulations of less than 1/4 of an inch covered portions of Houston County, closing county schools on Tuesday.
Ice of less than 1/4 inch covered multiple surfaces across the county. County schools were closed on 12/16.
Icy roads were reported across the entire county and numerous schools closures occurred.
Most roads were reported icy and slick in Ashland City. Main roads were salted. One eighth of ice accumulation on some exposed surfaces was also reported. Report was recieved by the NWS Nashville office at 531 AM CST.
Side roads were reported icy near Waverly. Some exposed surfaces with 1/8th inch ice accumulations were also reported. Report was recieved by the NWS Nashville Office at 531 AM CST.
Ice accumulations on fence, mental buildings, and plants of about 1/8th was reported in Cookeville. This report was received by the NWS Nashville Office at 708 AM CST.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, December 2008
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 147855, 147857, 147862, 147562, 147564, 147567.