A deep area of low pressure brought strong damaging winds to the mountains of east Tennessee.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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.
A deep area of low pressure brought strong damaging winds to the mountains of 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 Feb 12, 7:20 PM EST, 5 hours 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 720 PM EST TUE FEB 12 2008 .DISCUSSION...LOW LEVEL JET MAX HAS MOVED NORTH OF THE AREA THIS EVENING. WINDS ARE LOWERING AS PRESSURES FALL AROUND THE REGION. ONE LOW CENTER UP IN OH WITH ANOTHER MOVING INTO NW GA. TRIPLE POINT TAKING SHAPE NICELY WITH SOUTHERN SYSTEM. SLEET POTENTIAL ACROSS CUMBERLAND PLATEAU LOOKING A BIT BETTER. INITIAL GROUND TEMPS WARM SO ACCUMULATION DOES NOT APPEAR TO GREAT AT THIS TIME. WILL MONITOR AND A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MAY BE REQUIRED WESTERN AREAS LATER TONIGHT. HAVE ALSO UPPED POP GRIDS A TAD. SON PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS: SHORT TERM (TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY)...IN ADVANCE OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT...WINDS HAVE BECOME WINDY WITH LOCALLY VERY STRONG WINDS. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT OVER OUR EASTERN MOUNTAINS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN AREA WHERE A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT. WINDS SHOULD DECREASE OVERNIGHT...AS THE COLD FRONT EXITS THE AREA. THE MAIN BAND OF SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT IS CURRENTLY OVER MIDDLE TN. COVERAGE IS DIMINISHING SOMEWHAT...BUT STILL EXPECT MOST LOCATIONS TO SEE AT LEAST SOME SHOWER ACTIVITY. THEREFORE...HAVE LEFT POPS AROUND 80 TO 90 PERCENT. SHOWERS WILL LINGER INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING...MAINLY OVER FAR NORTHERN AND EASTERN LOCATIONS. THE COOLER...DRIER AIR PUSHING IN BEHIND THE FRONT COULD BRING A MIX OF PRECIP OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN. A FEW AREAS OF LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS OR FLURRIES IS POSSIBLE BY MORNING...BUT BY THIS TIME...MUCH OF THE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL BE MOVING OUT AND ANY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS SHOULD BE CONFINED TO NORMALLY FAVORED UPSLOPE LOCATIONS WITH AMOUNTS LIGHT...GENERALLY LESS THAN A HALF INCH. ON WEDNESDAY...TEMPERATURES WILL STRUGGLE TO CLIMB IN THE COOLER AIR MASS AND AFTERNOON HIGHS SHOULD ONLY REACH INTO THE LOW 40S ACROSS MOST VALLEY LOCATIONS. LONG TERM (WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY)...SUFFICIENT LINGERING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE MAY PERSIST WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS OR FLURRIES...DUE TO NW LOW LEVEL FLOW AND COLD AIR ADVECTION. LIMITED THIS TO FAVORED UPSLOPE AREAS OF SW VA AND NE TN. OTHERWISE...FOLLOWED HPC LEAD ON A SLOW PROGRESSION OF THE CLOSED UPPER LOW OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS STATES...WITH NAM-WRF/DGEX MUCH TOO FAST IN MOVING THE SYSTEM EAST. GFS ALSO PERHAPS TOO FAST ESPECIALLY IN THE DAY 3-5 PERIODS. ENSEMBLES AND OTHER MODELS (UKMET AND ECMWF) WOULD FAVOR SUNDAY AS THE MAIN PERIOD FOR WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION (PCPN). THUS...MAIN CHANGES MADE THIS PACKAGE WERE TO SLOW DOWN PCPN FOR FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY. THURSDAY LOOKS TO BE THE DRIEST DAY...BUT IF UPPER LOW IS SLOW TO PUSH EAST...THEN FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY MAY ALSO BE DRY. A BIT OF GULF MOISTURE AND A WEAK IMPULSE COULD EJECT AHEAD OF THE UPPER LOW...SO I KEPT LOW POPS IN FOR THIS POSSIBILITY AS WELL AS TO BETTER MESH WITH SURROUNDING OFFICES. TRACK OF THE UPPER LOW LOOKS TO BRING WARM AND MOIST AIR NORTHWARD...SUCH THAT SNOW SHOWERS SHOULD BE LIMITED TO BACK SIDE OF THE SYSTEM AS IT EXITS TO OUR NORTH EARLY MONDAY. OTHERWISE...OPTIMISTICALLY TRENDED DRY MOST AREAS MONDAY AND TUESDAY...FAVORING 12/00Z GFSX TEMPS WHERE SLIGHT DIFFERENCES WERE NOTED WITH 12/12Z GFSX MOS NUMBERS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... CHATTANOOGA AIRPORT, TN 37 42 27 59 33 / 80 20 0 0 10 KNOXVILLE AIRPORT, TN 35 40 24 54 32 / 80 30 10 0 10 OAK RIDGE, TN 33 39 23 54 31 / 80 30 10 0 10 TRI CITIES AIRPORT, TN 35 40 21 52 24 / 90 40 10 0 10 && .MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...NONE. TN...NONE. VA...NONE. && MJB/TG
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 410 AM EST TUE FEB 12 2008 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-130915- 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- 410 AM EST TUE FEB 12 2008 /310 AM CST TUE FEB 12 2008/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL TRACK FROM THE PLAINS TOWARD THE OHIO VALLEY TODAY. AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM...SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE TO BETWEEN 25 AND 35 MPH IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA. WINDS MAY GUST AS HIGH AS 50 MPH. THE WINDS SHOULD DIMINISH AND SHIFT TO THE WEST AS A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA LATE TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS ANTICIPATED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 934 PM EST TUE FEB 12 2008 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-131015- 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- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MURPHY...HAYESVILLE...ONEIDA... LA FOLLETTE...TAZEWELL...SNEEDVILLE...ROGERSVILLE...KINGSPORT... BRISTOL...MOUNTAIN CITY...WARTBURG...CLINTON...OAK RIDGE... MAYNARDVILLE...RUTLEDGE...MORRISTOWN...NEWPORT...COSBY... GREENEVILLE...CEDAR CREEK...JOHNSON CITY...ERWIN...ELIZABETHTON... ROAN MOUNTAIN...KINGSTON...LENOIR CITY...KNOXVILLE...DANDRIDGE... MARYVILLE...CADES COVE...SEVIERVILLE...GATLINBURG...DUNLAP... PIKEVILLE...DAYTON...DECATUR...ATHENS...MADISONVILLE... COKER CREEK...JASPER...CHATTANOOGA...CLEVELAND...BENTON... DUCKTOWN...JONESVILLE...WISE...GATE CITY...LEBANON...ABINGDON 934 PM EST TUE FEB 12 2008 /834 PM CST TUE FEB 12 2008/ ...STRONG COLD FRONT WILL BRING WINTRY MIX EARLY WEDNESDAY... TWO LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS WILL MOVE EAST THROUGH THE OHIO AND TENNESSEE RIVER VALLEYS TONIGHT. THE SOUTHERN LOW WILL MOVE NORTHEAST FROM NORTHWEST GEORGIA TO NORTH CAROLINA BY MID DAY WEDNESDAY. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE EAST THROUGH THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS OVERNIGHT. EVENING TEMPERATURES EAST OF THE COLD FRONT WERE WELL ABOVE NORMAL RANGING FROM THE MID 50S TO THE LOWER 60S. A LARGE AREA OF MODERATE RAINFALL ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO ADVANCE ACROSS THE REGION OVERNIGHT. TEMPERATURES WILL DROP DRAMATICALLY BEHIND THE COLD FRONT. MOST AREAS EAST OF THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU WILL STAY ABOVE FREEZING THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY. RAIN WILL BECOME MIXED WITH SLEET AND SNOW ACROSS THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING THEN CHANGE TO ALL LIGHT SNOW BY MID MORNING. GROUND TEMPERATURES ARE WARM SO FROZEN ACCUMULATIONS SHOULD BE LIGHT AND MAINLY ON ELEVATED SURFACES. THE FROZEN PRECIPITATION WILL OCCUR ACROSS MUCH OF EAST TENNESSEE...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA WEDNESDAY MORNING AND TAPER OFF BY THE AFTERNOON. AN INCH OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND THE MOUNTAINS OF EAST TENNESSEE. UPSLOPE SNOW SHOWERS MAY PRODUCE THREE INCHES OF SNOW ACROSS THE HIGHEST ELEVATIONS OF EAST TENNESSEE BY WEDNESDAY EVENING. TEMPERATURES WILL FALL WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. THESE COLD TEMPERATURES COUPLED WITH BREEZY NORTHWEST WINDS WILL RESULT IN WIND CHILL READINGS AT OR BELOW FREEZING.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Co-Op observer at Mt Leconte reported non-thunderstorm damaging winds in the area.
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, February 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 79861.