A boundary across the area triggered scattered severe thunderstorms during the late evening and overnight hours on the 2nd-3rd. Storm reports contained primarily damaging thunderstorm winds.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 boundary across the area triggered scattered severe thunderstorms during the late evening and overnight hours on the 2nd-3rd. Storm reports contained primarily damaging thunderstorm winds.
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 2, 7:13 PM CST, 1 hour 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
913 PM EDT THU APR 2 2009
.DISCUSSION...
TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 07 UTC FOR THE PLATEAU
AND SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE. SATELLITE SHOWS NEGATIVE TILTED UPPER
TROUGH MOVING EAST NORTHEAST ACROSS NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI. STRONG TO
SEVERE CONVECTION OVER NORTHERN ALABAMA ASSOCIATED WITH NOSE OF
300MB JET STREAK WILL MOVE INTO THE FORECAST AREA BETWEEN 10 AND 11
PM. EVEN THOUGH INSTABILITY IS LACKING...UPPER DYNAMICS IS VERY
STRONG WITH A STRONG WIND FIELD JUST OFF THE SURFACE (850MB WINDS
OF 50KT+). MAIN THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS...BUT ENOUGH SHEAR
REMAINS TO WARRANT THE POTENTIAL OF LOW-TOPPED MINI-SUPERCELLS...
ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE A CONCERN.
STRONG BOUNDARY LAYER WINDS CONTINUE TO PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS UP TO
30 MPH OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN. ALSO...AS CONVECTION MOVES INTO THE
REGION...STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED.
CURRENT FORECAST LOOKS GOOD AND PLAN LITTLE IF ANY CHANGES.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
CHATTANOOGA AIRPORT, TN 53 63 42 73 51 / 100 20 0 0 0
KNOXVILLE MCGHEE TYSON AIRPORT, TN 53 62 42 72 47 / 100 20 0 0 0
OAK RIDGE, TN 53 62 42 72 48 / 100 20 0 0 0
TRI CITIES AIRPORT, TN 52 59 39 69 41 / 100 40 0 0 0
&&
.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM EDT FRIDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
CHEROKEE...CLAY.
TN...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM EDT /9 AM CDT/ FRIDAY FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES: ANDERSON...BLEDSOE...BLOUNT SMOKY
MOUNTAINS...BRADLEY...CAMPBELL...CLAIBORNE...COCKE SMOKY
MOUNTAINS...EAST POLK...GRAINGER...HAMBLEN...HAMILTON...
HANCOCK...HAWKINS...JEFFERSON...JOHNSON...KNOX...LOUDON...
MARION...MCMINN...MEIGS...MORGAN...NW BLOUNT...NORTH
SEVIER...NORTHWEST CARTER...NORTHWEST COCKE...NORTHWEST
GREENE...NORTHWEST MONROE...RHEA...ROANE...SCOTT TN...
SEQUATCHIE...SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS...SOUTHEAST CARTER...
SOUTHEAST GREENE...SOUTHEAST MONROE...SULLIVAN...UNICOI...
UNION...WASHINGTON TN...WEST POLK.
VA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM EDT FRIDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
LEE...RUSSELL...SCOTT...WASHINGTON...WISE.
&&
DHHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 514 AM EDT THU APR 2 2009 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-030915- 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- 514 AM EDT THU APR 2 2009 /414 AM CDT THU APR 2 2009/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A STRONG STORM SYSTEM THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT WILL CAUSE WIDESPREAD SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN U.S. THE MAIN THREAT IN OUR AREA WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS WITH NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS GUSTS OVER 60 MPH POSSIBLE. SOME SEVERE CRITERIA HAIL IS EXPECTED...BUT WILL LIKELY REMAIN ONE-INCH DIAMETER OF LESS. ALSO...ISOLATED BRIEF TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE. MODERATE FREQUENCY CLOUD- TO-GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES WILL OCCUR WITH THESE STORMS. OUTSIDE OF THE STORMS...STRONG SOUTH WINDS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT...ESPECIALLY IN THE MOUNTAINS...AS A LOW LEVEL JET SETS UP AHEAD OF THE ADVANCING COLD FRONT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT THE REGION SUNDAY EVENING AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT. HOWEVER...THE THREAT OF STRONG OR SEVERE STORMS IS VERY MINIMAL AT THIS TIME. COLDER AIR AND LINGERING MOISTURE ON MONDAY AND EARLY TUESDAY... MAY PRODUCE SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS FOR PARTS OF SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA...NORTHEAST TENNESSEE AND THE SMOKY MOUNTAINS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY FOR AT LEAST SOME PARTS OF THE AREA BY THIS EVENING EVENING INTO EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. GM/TG
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 738 PM EDT THU APR 2 2009 TNZ081-098-030030- MARION-SEQUATCHIE- 638 PM CDT THU APR 2 2009 AT 635 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A LINE OF SHOWERS WEST OF MONTEAGLE TENNESSEE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. WINDS AROUND 40 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED AHEAD OF THESE SHOWERS AND WITH THE LINE. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF AROUND ONE HALF INCH OR MORE CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THE SHOWERS. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 200 AM CDT FRIDAY MORNING FOR PARTS OF EAST TENNESSEE. TD
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 44 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:25 UTC.
11 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Law enforcement officials reported several trees and powerlines downed by thunderstorm winds in Jasper.
Law enforcement officials reported a few trees downed by thunderstorm winds in Red Bank.
Law enforcement officials reported several trees and powerlines downed by thunderstorm winds in Whitwell.
Law enforcement officials reported a few trees downed by thunderstorm winds countywide.
Law enforcement officials reported several trees and powerlines downed by thunderstorm winds in Chattanooga.
The highway department reported one tree downed by thunderstorm winds on Route 422 near Athens.
Law enforcement officials reported one power pole downed by thunderstorm winds in Sweetwater.
Highway department officials reported two trees downed by thunderstorm winds in the Philadelphia area.
Law enforcement officials reported one tree and powerline downed by thunderstorm winds along Highway 61 near Harriman.
Law enforcement officials reported a few trees and powerlines downed by thunderstorm winds countywide.
Law enforcement officials reported two trees and powerlines downed by thunderstorm winds near Seymour.
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: 158785, 158788, 158786, 158787, 158789, 158790, 158791, 158792, 158793, 158794, 158795.