Tennessee, 2009

Winter Weather in Tennessee, December 5, 2009

December 5, 2009 · NWS OHX · 16 events in 16 counties and zones

S. allowing moisture from the deep south and Gulf of Mexico to move across Middle Tennessee.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 16 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
4
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
16

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS OHX wrote it up.

A deep upper level trough developed across the central U.S. allowing moisture from the deep south and Gulf of Mexico to move across Middle Tennessee. A strong surface high pressure center was positioned near the Missouri bootheel, ushering in temperatures below freezing across the mid state. The results of the interaction of these two air masses were total snowfall accumulations of one half to almost three inches across locations generally along and west of Interstate 65. Multiple roads across these counties became snow covered, causing hazardous driving conditions and several car accidents.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

16 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Giles

When
December 5, 12:30 AM CST to 4:30 AM CST
Where
Giles forecast zone
Injuries
0 direct, 4 indirect
Reported by
CoCoRaHS
Coordinates
35.202, -87.035 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Total snowfall accumulation of one inch reported by a CoCoRaHs Observer just northeast of Ardmore. A newspaper reported that snow had fallen across other parts of the county, being a factor in at least three accidents. This included an accident on Elkton Prospect Road just after 7 AM CST, where the male driver was ejected in the single vehicle rollover accident. He and the female passenger were flown by medical helpicopters from a landing zone at the scene to Huntsvile, Alabama's Hospital, one with serious injuries and one in critical condition. Final condition of both the male driver and female passenger were unkown. A person was injured in a single vehicle rollover accident on Interstate 65 just after 6 AM CST, with the driver being transported from the scene to Hillside Hospital in Pulaski. Final condition of the driver was unkown. Another single vehicle accident occurred at 7:50 AM CST on Highway 64 East near Frankewing. Driver was transported from the scence to Hillside Hospital and later transported to Vanderbilt Hospital by air medical service. Final condition of the driver was unkown. Details on any damage amounts or injuries associated with these accidents were unknown.

Winter Weather, Bedford

When
December 5, 12:45 AM CST to 5:45 AM CST
Where
Bedford forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
35.514, -86.459 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Total snowfall accumulation of one inch was reported in the city of Wartrace by the Bedford County Sheriff's Department. Multiple roads across the city became snow covered, causing hazardous driving conditions and several car accidents. Details on any damage amounts or injuries associated with these accidents were unknown.

Winter Weather, Wilson

When
December 5, 12:45 AM CST to 5:45 AM CST
Where
Wilson forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
36.155, -86.298 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Total snowfall accumulation of one inch was reported in the city of Lebanon by the Lebanon City Police Office. Multiple roads in the city became snow covered, causing hazardous driving conditions and several car accidents. Details on any damage amounts or injuries associated with these accidents were unknown.

Winter Weather, Rutherford

When
December 5, 12:45 AM CST to 5:45 AM CST
Where
Rutherford forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
35.843, -86.417 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Total snowfall accumulation of one half of an inch was reported in the city of Murfreesboro by the Murfreesboro City Police Office. A newpaper reported that|black ice formed across the county with approximately 14 wrecks on Interstate 24|alone. The hardest hit area was a segment of Interstate 24 between Smyrna and Murfressboro and roads close to the Rutherford/Davidson County line. According to|Murfreesboro Police Department dispatchers, the westbound lanes of Interstate 24 between mile marker 66 and 84 were closed to travelers during the early morning into the mid morning hours because of the number of accidents that had occurred. The debris was cleared and traffic was moving again by approxiamately 11 AM CST as the sun emerged to dry things out. Details on any damage amounts or injuries associated with these accidents were unknown.

Winter Weather, Coffee

When
December 5, 1:00 AM CST to 5:00 AM CST
Where
Coffee forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
35.491, -86.075 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Total snowfall accumulation of between one half and one inch was reported across the county by the Coffee County Sheriff's Office. Multiple roads across the county became snow covered, causing hazardous driving conditions and several car accidents. Details on any damage amounts or injuries associated with these accidents were unknown.

Winter Weather, Cannon

When
December 5, 1:00 AM CST to 5:00 AM CST
Where
Cannon forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
35.809, -86.062 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Total snowfall accumulation of one half of an inch was reported across the county by the Cannon County Sheriff's Office. Multiple roads across the county became snow covered, causing hazardous driving conditions and several car accidents. Details on any damage amounts or injuries associated with these accidents were unknown.

Winter Weather, Smith

When
December 5, 1:00 AM CST to 5:00 AM CST
Where
Smith forecast zone
Reported by
CoCoRaHS
Coordinates
36.251, -85.957 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Total snowfall accumulation of one inch of snowfall was reported by a CoCoRaHS observer in Carthage. The City of Carthage Police Office verified that multiple roads across the county became snow covered, causing hazardous driving conditions and several car accidents. Details on any damage amounts or injuries associated with these accidents were unknown.

Winter Weather, Grundy

When
December 5, 1:30 AM CST to 5:30 AM CST
Where
Grundy forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
35.388, -85.723 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Total snowfall accumulation of one to two inches was reported across the county by the Grundy County Sheriff's Office. Multiple roads across the county became snow covered, causing hazardous driving conditions and several car accidents. Details on any damage amounts or injuries associated with these accidents were unknown.

Winter Weather, Overton

When
December 5, 1:45 AM CST to 5:45 AM CST
Where
Overton forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
36.345, -85.288 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Total snowfall accumulation of one to almost three inches was reported across the county by the Overton Sheriff's Office. Multiple roads across the county became snow covered, causing hazardous driving conditions and several car accidents. Details on any damage amounts or injuries associated with these accidents were unknown.

Winter Weather, Pickett

When
December 5, 1:45 AM CST to 5:45 AM CST
Where
Pickett forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
36.558, -85.075 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Total snowfall accumulation of one half to one inch was reported across the county by the Pickett County's Sheriff's Office. Multiple roads across the county became snow covered, causing hazardous driving conditions and several car accidents. Details on any damage amounts or injuries associated with these accidents were unknown.

Winter Weather, Putnam

When
December 5, 1:45 AM CST to 5:45 AM CST
Where
Putnam forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
36.141, -85.495 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Total snowfall accumulation of one inch across western portions and two to almost three inches across eastern portions of the county was reported by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. Multiple roads across the county became snow covered, causing hazardous driving conditions and several car accidents. Details on any damage amounts or injuries associated with these accidents were unknown.

Winter Weather, Van Buren

When
December 5, 1:45 AM CST to 5:45 AM CST
Where
Van Buren forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
35.696, -85.453 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Total snowfall accumulation of two inches was reported across the county by the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office. Multiple roads across the county became snow covered, causing hazardous driving conditions and several car accidents. Details on any damage amounts or injuries associated with these accidents were unknown.

Winter Weather, Warren

When
December 5, 1:45 AM CST to 5:45 AM CST
Where
Warren forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
35.679, -85.778 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Total snowfall accumulation of one half to almost three inches was reported across the county by the Warren County Sheriff's Department. Multiple roads across the county became snow covered, causing hazardous driving conditions and several car accidents. Details on any damage amounts or injuries associated with these accidents were unknown.

Winter Weather, White

When
December 5, 1:45 AM CST to 5:45 AM CST
Where
White forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
35.926, -85.455 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Total snowfall accumulation of one to almost three inches was reported across the county by the White County Sheriff's Office. Multiple roads across the county became snow covered, causing hazardous driving conditions and several car accidents. Details on any damage amounts or injuries associated with these accidents were unknown.

Winter Weather, Cumberland

When
December 5, 2:00 AM CST to 6:00 AM CST
Where
Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
35.950, -84.998 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Total snowfall accumulation of one to almost three inches was reported across the county by the Cumberland County Sheriffs Office. Multiple roads across the county became snow covered, causing hazardous driving conditions and several car accidents. Details on any damage amounts or injuries associated with these accidents were unknown.

Winter Weather, Fentress

When
December 5, 2:00 AM CST to 6:00 AM CST
Where
Fentress forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
36.381, -84.932 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Total snowfall accumulation of one to two inches was reported across the county by the Fentress County Sheriff's Office. Multiple roads across the county became snow covered, causing hazardous driving conditions and several car accidents. Details on any damage amounts or injuries associated with these accidents were unknown.

What these are

Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Tennessee in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, December 2009

Sources

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: 207754, 207657, 207664, 207679, 207406, 207408, 207683, 207568, 207646, 207652, 207653, 207654, 207655, 207656, 207409, 207567.