Tornadoes and Hail in Tennessee, April 10, 2009

Tress were down on power lines in Hohenwald.

Multiple trees were reported down county wide. The most concentrated damage was on Valley Creek Road west of Culleoka where numerous trees were snapped off aloft and siding of a roof of a house was taken off.

Cannon Community Church, at 209 Old Murfreesboro Road, had the south side of the roof blown off of its building and into the parking lot in front of the building blocking the road.

Tornado touchdown about 6 miles northeast of Camden at 1041 A.M. CDT. A newspaper reported that the damage began at the Prospect Church and Cemetery, damaging the trim of the church and uprooting trees in the cemetery. It traveled northeast and ended at the Tennessee River at about 1048 A.M. CDT. Damage width was 75 yards wide. Much of the damage was along and near Grapevine and Harmon Dock Roads. Many hundreds of large hardwoood trees and pine trees were snapped or uprooted along the 4 mile damage path. Twelve homes suffered roof and structural damage and several outbuildings, including two barns, were destroyed, two mobile homes were damaged, and at least two cars were damaged per NWS Storm Survey and newspaper reports. Based on this damage, maximum estimated winds at 100 mph which corresponds to and EF-1 Tornado.

Also...one trailor was destroyed on Harmon Creek Road. Numerous trees were reported down in northern portions of the county.

A brief EF-0 Tornado, with winds of maximum estimated wind speed of 70 mph, occurred in the Highlands on Kentucky Lake Subdivision. This tornado snapped a few trees and had a length of one mile and a width of 25 yards.

An EF-1 Tornado, with maximum estimated wind speed around 100 mph, did extensive tree damage along Gander Branch Road and destroyed a barn and damaged a nearby house on Tennessee Ridge Road near Concord in Humphreys County. The tornado also damaged a barn and downed trees near Woolworth on Route 13, then lifted northeast of Silvertop in Houston County. The tornado had a path length of 12 miles and a maximum width of 300 yards.

Newspaper reported that emergency management officials stated that three homes and a mobile home received minor damage and hundereds of trees were rooted in Houston County. In Humpreys County, one house appeared to have major damage, one had significant damage, and a double wide mobile home was destroyed.

Baseball size hail was reported in Waynesboro. One report had large hailstones crashing through the decking of a mobile home and damaging a ceiling fan inside. Several other roofs of homes and vehicles received hail damage around Waynesboro.

Penny size hail was reported in Tennessee Ridge.

Near the city of Flatwoods, hailstones were measured at 3.25 inches and weighed 1/4 pound.

Just off of Parrot Cemetery Road in Slayden, a home had a portion of its roof ripped off and its garage walls caved in.

Penny size hail was reported on Interstate 40 near Waverly.

Penny size hail was reported in Columbia.

Penny size hail was reported in the Cunningham Community southwest of Clarksville.

Nickel size hail was reported in Pinewood.

Golf ball size hail was reported west of Hohenwald.

Penny size hail was reported near the Maury, Giles, and Lawrence County Lines.

Newspaper report stated the emergency management officials reported that quarter size hail fell in Erin and that golf ball size hail was reported in other parts of the county.

An EF-4 Tornado...with maximum estimated wind speed around 170 mph, was reached in the Highland Park Drive Neighborhood as well as the|Tomahawk Trace Area. Several well constructed homes were destroyed|in those areas, hardwood trees were debarked, and vehicles were tossed|considerable distances. There were two fatalities, a 30 year old women and her 9 week old daughter, and 58 injuries per newspaper reports, of which at least 7 were serious. Path length was 23.25 miles and maximum width was 750 yards.

Gound surveys of the Murfreesboro tornado indicate that the actual initial touchdown was just north of the Eagleville Community in far|Southwestern Rutherford County. Intermittent tree and roof damage was |noted beginning at a residence near the intersection of Kelly Road and|Highway 41A. Intermittent tree damage continued northeast, with the path becoming continuous along Rocky Grove Road between the Cedar Grove |and Pleasant Hill Communities. The survey team then inspected continuous|damage from Rocky Grove Road northeast to a residence on Newman Road approximately 2 miles north of the Windrow Community. Extensive tree damage was noted along the path...along with multiple instances of roof damage to homes.

The most significant damage was on Patterson Road 1/2 mile west of Windrow. A brick home was completely destroyed and thrown almost|completely off its foundation.

Additional areas between Stones River Battlefield and Medical Center |Parkway in Murfreesboro were surveyed. Two homes on Wilkinson Pike and two homes on Highland Park Drive were completely destroyed. One of the homes did appear to be properly anchored to it's foundation while three|were not. Per a newspaper report, at Stones River Battlefield, a quarter mile swath of fallen and damaged trees streched one mile across the battlefield, along with numerous fences being destroyed, closing parts of the park to tourists. One particular fallen tree damaged a 60 foot section of the national cemetary wall and a cannon display.

Additional information about the tornado included it tracked due northeast for the first 9 miles then began a steady turn to the right. By the time the tornado lifted it was moving to the east-southeast. Additionally, videos of the tornado indicated a multiple vortex appearance to the tornado and the aerial survey was able to detect focused areas of damage within the larger path.

The aeriel survey revealed 12 to 15 homes which were completely destroyed and dozens others which suffered significant damage. A 2-story office building had the complete upper floor removed.|Numerous large vehicles were picked up and tossed, including|several semi trailers which wound up piled together near the|intersection of Thompson Lane and Broad Street. Significant roof|damage and some wall collapse on homes were also noted.|Several well built homes suffered significant exterior and|interior wall failure.

Three other areas received significant damage. The first area was along Bushnell Drive just north of Compton Road. A well built 2-storty brick home was almost completely destroyed with just part of the kitchen wall remaining standing. The second area was near the intersection of Haynes Drive and Sulphur Springs Road. Three homes on Cornwall Court were completely destroyed and thrown clear of their slab foundations, however|it did not appear any of the homes was properly anchored.

The third area of enhanced damage was along Battleground Drive between |D`Ann Drive and Tomahawk Trace. The National Weather Service Assessment team was joined by a Murfreesboro Code who assisted with assessing construction quality at this location. Three homes were completely blown clear of their foundations and destroyed. One home was not |anchored/fastened to the foundation, however, the other 2 were very well constructed. Several trees were also debarked at this location.

Additional information provided by the Rutherford County EMA through a newspaper report stated that over 845 homes were damaged, of these 117 were destroyed, 298 had major damage, 175 had minor damage, and another 255 were affected in some way. 519 Structures were also affected, including 77 destroyed, with an additional 300 plus homes and structures impacted in some way just outside of the city limits. Newspaper also reported an overturned truck caused traffic backup on Interstate 24 and multiple power lines down across the entire city.|Power lines being down resulted in as many as 18,000 homes being without power after the storm.

Newspaper also reported that two people were seriously injured and multiple homes were destroyed when the tornado passed through the Wilkinson Pike/Thompson Lane Areas. Large trees were also uprooted|and utility poles were blown over. Multiple businesses in the Thompson Lane/Broad Street area were significantly damaged, including a Shell convenience store and Huddleston-Steele Engineering.

Newspaper also reported continuous damage, detail of damage not provided, between Esquire Court and Wigan Drive and Tomahawk Trace to Highway 231 and then into the Compton Road area.

Newspaper also reported that Murfreesboro Waste Department had gathered in excess of more the 2.7 million pounds of debris. And that total tonnage associated with the storm gathered at the Rutherford County Landfill was 5,071 tons.

Penny size hail was reported in Collinwood.

Golf ball size hail was reported in Arrington.

Golf ball size hail was reported by spotter on Jewell Avenue in Smyrna.

Funnel cloud was reported in Coopertown along with pea size hail.

Golf ball size hail was reported in Smyrna.

Nickel size hail was reported at 8076 Columbia Highway near Pulaski.

Golf ball size hail was reported in Cypress Inn on Highway 17.

As the storm moved across the county, golf ball size hail was reported at multiple locations. Emergency manager report received through newspaper article.

Funnel cloud was reported 10 miles north of Pulaski.

Golf ball size hail was reported 5 miles west of Lawrenceburg.

Golf ball size hail was reported on the MTSU Campus.

Quarter size hail was reported by the EMA Director.

Golf ball size hail was reported at the intersection of Highway 373 and Interstate 65.

Nickel size hail was reported on Church Street.

Damage occurred near the intersection of Highways 25 and 76. Four frame homes, per newspaper report, and a mobile home suffered significant roof damage along Creekmore Road. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted. Per newspaper report, numerous power lines were downed.|The path length of the tornado was 0.6 mile with a maximum path width of 50 yards. The damage was rated EF-1 in intensity, with maximum wind speeds around 100 mph.

Newspaper reported several residents called Shelbyville police with reports of funnel clouds. Three calls were received of funnel clouds over or near H.V. Griffin Park and from the Edgemont area and by a Canova Drive resident.

An EF0 Tornado, with estimated maximum wind speeds of 70 mph, pushed several oak trees down. Path length was 0.2 miles and it had a maximum width of 25 yards.

Nickel size hail was reported on Tom J. Hitch Parkway.

The damage was limited to an area along Bradyville Pike, just south of|Manus Road. In this area, 4 homes were damaged along with a barn, |and several trees were snapped or uprooted. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind speed was around 100 mph, which corresponds to an EF-1 rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Path length was 3.7 miles and width was 100 yards.

Also...Minor damage to house at intersection of John Bragg Highway and Double Springs Road. Trees were pushed down at this location also.

Golf ball size hail was reported in Murfreesboro.

Spottter reported quarter inch hail on Old Fort Parkway west of Murfreesboro.

Nickel size hail was reported halfway between Columbia and Interstate 65.

Summer County Sheriff Officers reported penny size hail in the Westmoreland area.

Quarter size hail was reported in Pulaski.

The tornado touchdown one half mile north of the intersection of Murfreesboro Road and Locke Creek Road. The tornado then traveled northeast. The tornado damage path was 0.8 miles long and 75 yards wide. The start of the damage was found at the top of the ridge off of Locke Creek Road. Numerous trees were uprooted and twisted. One power pole was snapped. Based on the damage found, winds were estimated at 70 mph which corresponds to an EF-0 Tornado.

Amateur Radio Spotter reported funnel cloud 6 miles northwest of Shelbyville. Quarter size hail was also reported.

Nickel size hail was observed 3 miles west southwest of Chapel Hill.

Quarter inch hail was reported by Lewisburg COOP Observer.

Quarter to golf ball size hail was reported in Bell Buckle.

Quarter size hail was reported in Smithville.

Only a few trees were reported down with the storm as it moved through DeKalb County. However, one tree which fell across power lines on West Broad Street caused a large power outage throughout many areas of the city.

Penny size hail was reported 2 miles east of Interstate 24.

Power lines were downed and pea size hail was reported in Shady Grove and 3 miles east of Burgressfalls.

Penny size hail was reported at 1203 E Carroll Street in Manchester.

Large garage was destroyed behind home in Mt. Leo.

Several trees were blown over throughout the county.

Storm Chaser video showed brief touchdown in a field just east of Interstate 24.

An EF-1 Tornado, with a maximum estimated wind speed of around 100 mph, touchdown near the intersection of Highway 84 and Long Hollow Road in Putnam County. It then traveled northeast and ended one quarter of a mile north of Dipping Springs Road and I-40 in Cumberland County. The start of the damage was found at Bethel Church off of Highway 84. Northeast from the church considerable trees were twisted or snapped or uprooted along the damage path along Cliff Park Road, near the intersection of Icy Cove Trail and Arrow Trail and East Cove Road.|Tornado path length was 12 miles with a maximum width of 100 yards.

Newspaper reported that other areas near the Monterey sustained considerable damage, including roofs blown off barns and sheds, trees|uprooted, and fences demolished. In particular, the roof of the tractor|shed, damage to a cattle corral, and miles of fences were demolished, along with a rental house that had its windows shattered, at Senator Charlotte Burks Farm near Monterey.

Numerous trees were reported down in the southern part of the county.