A strong low pressure tracked across southwest North Carolina bringing damaging non-thunderstorm winds to the area in the overnight hours on the 25th. The strongest winds occurred over the higher elevations.
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 strong low pressure tracked across southwest North Carolina bringing damaging non-thunderstorm winds to the area in the overnight hours on the 25th. The strongest winds occurred over the higher elevations.
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 Dec 25, 12:20 AM EST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
1220 AM EST FRI DEC 25 2009
.AVIATION...LARGE LOW PRESSURE AREA MOVING NORTH WEST OF THE AREA.
HIGH PRESSURE SLOWLY WEAKENING TO THE NE. PRESSURE GRADIENT REMAINS
STRONG BETWEEN THESE SYSTEMS AND STRONG SE WINDS WILL CONTINUE
OVERNIGHT. A THIN LINE OF MODERATE RAINFALL IS EMBEDDED IN A LARGE
AREA OF LIGHT RAIN ALONG AND IN ADVANCE OF A NE MOVING FRONTAL
BOUNDARY. FRONT MOVES NE THROUGH AREA BETWEEN 12-18Z. PCPN WILL
TAPER OFF AND BRISK SW WINDS WILL OCCUR BEHIND THE FRONT. CIGS AND VSBYS
WILL MAINLY BE IN THE MVFR RANGE.
&&
.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL NOON EST TODAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
CHEROKEE...CLAY.
TN...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL NOON EST TODAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS...COCKE SMOKY MOUNTAINS...EAST
POLK...JOHNSON...MCMINN...NW BLOUNT...NORTH SEVIER...
NORTHWEST CARTER...NORTHWEST COCKE...NORTHWEST GREENE...
NORTHWEST MONROE...SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS...SOUTHEAST
CARTER...SOUTHEAST GREENE...SOUTHEAST MONROE...UNICOI...
WASHINGTON TN...WEST POLK.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL NOON EST /11 AM CST/ TODAY FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: BLEDSOE...BRADLEY...CAMPBELL...CLAIBORNE...
HAMILTON...MARION...MEIGS...MORGAN...RHEA...SCOTT TN...
SEQUATCHIE.
VA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL NOON EST TODAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
LEE...RUSSELL...SCOTT...WASHINGTON...WISE.
&&
LCMHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 509 AM EST THU DEC 24 2009 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-251015- 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- 509 AM EST THU DEC 24 2009 /409 AM CST THU DEC 24 2009/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BEGIN TO AFFECT THE REGION BY THIS AFTERNOON...BRINGING THE POSSIBILITY OF STRONG WINDS AROUND THE MOUNTAINS DUE TO MOUNTAIN WAVES. IN ADDITION...WITH THE GROUND REMAINING NEARLY SATURATED...SOME FLOODING OF LOW LYING AND FLOOD PRONE AREAS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS SYSTEM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THE STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL EXIT THE REGION ON FRIDAY. THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF STRONG WINDS AROUND THE MOUNTAINS DUE TO MOUNTAIN WAVES. THE RISK OF FLOODING OF LOW LYING AND FLOOD PRONE AREAS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS SYSTEM. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED BY TONIGHT FOR WIND AND FLOODING REPORTS.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A trained spotter reported 3 trees and a powerline downed by non-thunderstorm winds in Warne.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, December 2009
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: 206690.