A strong pressure gradient across the area brought high winds to the higher elevations and strong winds to the valley. One person died when a tree fell on their home while they were inside.
Every event with a place to put it; 10 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 pressure gradient across the area brought high winds to the higher elevations and strong winds to the valley. One person died when a tree fell on their home while they were inside.
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 Apr 13, 4:31 AM EST, 7 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
531 AM EDT MON APR 13 2009
.DISCUSSION...EXPANDED WIND ADVISORY AND UPGRADED TN MOUNTAINS TO
WIND WARNING TODAY. TIGHT GRADIENT BETWEEN PRESSURE SYSTEMS
MIGRATING NORTHWARD INTO MRX CWA THIS MORNING. ENHANCED MOUNTAIN
DOWNSLOPE FLOW APPEARS LIKELY WITH LOW LEVEL JET MAX SETTING UP
OVER CUMBERLAND PLATEAU. H85 JET ARND 60 KTS. TOWER WINDS SPEEDS
INCREASING WITH LATEST COVE MNT 4078 FT AT 42 MPH.
SHORT TERM (TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT)...SURFACE LOW PRESSURE
VCNTY MEMPHIS THIS MORNING. SW-NE JET SEGMENT MOVING THROUGH THE TN
VLY AND INTO THE S APPALACHIANS TONIGHT. ISENTROPIC LIFT HAS
BROUGHT LIGHT PCPN INTO THE MRX CWA. DEEP CONVECTION TO THE SW HAS
ROBBED SOME OF THE MOISTURE. HOWEVER...LIGHT PCPN SHOULD PERSIST
THIS MORNING. LATER TODAY MID LEVEL Q-VECTOR CONVERGENCE PROGGED
OVER THE AREA SO DEEPER CONVECTION A BETTER BET THIS AFTN WITH SOME
DESTABILIZATION. PRESSURE GRADIENT TWEEN LOW AND STANDING SURFACE
RIDGE CONTINUES TO TIGHTEN EARLY TODAY. SE WINDS WILL INCREASE
ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS AND DOWNSLOPE WINDS WILL LIKELY BLEED
INTO THE FOOTHILLS. NE VALLEY WINDS MAY REMAIN LIGHT NE FOR A GOOD
PART OF THE MORNING. LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES NE AND PRESSURE
GRADIENT RELAXES TONIGHT. LAYER DRIES OUT SOME THIS EVENING. COLD
FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE WEST OVERNIGHT. WARM AIR ADVECTION AND
MOISTURE CONVERGENCE SUPPORT CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT IN ADVANCE AND
ALONG FRONT. THERE IS ALSO SOME WEAK UPPER SUPPORT FOR TSTM
ACTIVITY EARLY TUES. NW FLOW PATTERN TAKES SHAPE LATER TUE MORNING
WITH SCT SHOWERS CONTINUING THROUGH TUE NGT MAINLY ACROSS NE TN/SW
VA. BELOW NORMAL TEMPS TUES NGT BUT CURRENTLY A VALLEY FREEZE NOT
EXPECTED.
LONG TERM (WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY)...A FEW SHOWERS MAY LINGER
OVER THE AREA EARLY WEDNESDAY AS A WEATHER SYSTEM EXITS THE AREA.
OTHERWISE...EXPECT A QUIET WEATHER PATTERN EARLY IN THE EXTENDED
WITH HIGH PRESSURE IN CONTROL. CONFIDENCE REMAINS LOW FOR THE LATER
PART OF THE PERIOD. MODELS IN POOR AGREEMENT ON THE SYSTEM
APPROACHING THE AREA FOR THE WEEKEND. HAVE TRENDED FORECAST A BIT
SLOWER WITH LOW POPS SATURDAY/SATURDAY NIGHT AND CHANCE INTO
SUNDAY. STAYED NEAR GUIDANCE FOR TEMPS.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
CHATTANOOGA AIRPORT, TN 66 52 60 39 67 / 100 70 20 10 10
KNOXVILLE MCGHEE TYSON AIRPORT, TN 63 52 60 42 63 / 100 70 40 30 10
OAK RIDGE, TN 63 50 59 42 63 / 100 70 40 30 10
TRI CITIES AIRPORT, TN 61 48 58 40 61 / 100 70 60 50 20
&&
.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM EDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: CHEROKEE...CLAY.
TN...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 4 PM EDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES: BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS...COCKE SMOKY
MOUNTAINS...JOHNSON...SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS...SOUTHEAST
CARTER...SOUTHEAST GREENE...SOUTHEAST MONROE...UNICOI.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM EDT /3 PM CDT/ THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES: ANDERSON...BLEDSOE...BRADLEY...CAMPBELL...
CLAIBORNE...EAST POLK...GRAINGER...HAMBLEN...HAMILTON...
HANCOCK...HAWKINS...JEFFERSON...KNOX...LOUDON...MARION...
MCMINN...MEIGS...MORGAN...NW BLOUNT...NORTH SEVIER...
NORTHWEST CARTER...NORTHWEST COCKE...NORTHWEST GREENE...
NORTHWEST MONROE...RHEA...ROANE...SCOTT TN...SEQUATCHIE...
SULLIVAN...UNION...WASHINGTON TN...WEST POLK.
VA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM EDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: LEE...RUSSELL...SCOTT...WASHINGTON...WISE.
&&
SONThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 strong wind, 4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Law enforcement officials reported a tree fell on a home in Etowah killing the teenager sleeping inside.
The local newspaper reported several trees and powerlines downed by strong winds across the county.
The local newspaper reported several trees and powerlines downed by strong winds across the county.
The local newspaper reported several trees and powerlines downed by strong winds across the county.
The local newspaper reported several trees and powerlines downed by strong winds across the county. A camper was also overturned by the winds.
The local newspaper reported several trees and powerlines downed by strong winds across the county.
The Greeneville Sun newspaper reported several trees downed by the high winds across the southern portions of the county.
The Great Smoky Mountain National Park officials reported numerous trees downed by the high winds across the park.
The Great Smoky Mountain National Park officials reported numerous trees downed by the high winds across the park.
The Great Smoky Mountain National Park officials reported numerous trees downed by the high winds across the park.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind, McMinn | 2009-04-13 | 18 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, April 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: 166753, 166757, 166758, 166760, 166761, 166764, 166733, 167548, 167549, 167550.