As a cold frontal system moved southeastward through Middle Tennessee, and upper level disturbances continued to move across the mid state in upper level northwesterly flow, thunderstorms developed during the early morning through afternoon hours. Some of these thunderstorms contained heavy rainfall resulting in flash flooding while there was one report of lightning causing damage also.
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 OHX wrote it up.
As a cold frontal system moved southeastward through Middle Tennessee, and upper level disturbances continued to move across the mid state in upper level northwesterly flow, thunderstorms developed during the early morning through afternoon hours. Some of these thunderstorms contained heavy rainfall resulting in flash flooding while there was one report of lightning causing damage also.
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 Nashville, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 5, 3:12 AM CST, 13 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 412 AM CDT SUN JUL 5 2009 .SHORT TERM (TDAY-TUE)... STALLED WARM FRONT NORTH OF MID TN THIS MORNING. THERE IS A GOOD DEAL OF MOISTURE IN A SFC TROUGH FM S MID TN INTO AR. MODELS SHIFT DEEP MOISTURE SOUTH TDAY WITH NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. FRONTAL BDRY IN AR BECOMES MORE DOMINANT. BEST CHANCE OF ORGANIZED ACTIVITY WL BE IN THE SOUTH. SCT NORTH. FRONTAL BDRY EXPECTED TO CLEAR S MID TN TONIGHT. SFC HIGH PRES DOMINANT IN THE NORTH MON AND ACR MIDSTATE TUE. DRY WX RETURNS. TEMPS CLOSE TO 90 TUE AFTERNOON. .LONG TERM... WARM DRY PATTERN CONTINUES IN THE EXTENDED WITH A CHANCE OF PCPN NEXT WEEKEND...WITH A FRONTAL BDRY. A SLIGHT CHANCE AT THIS POINT CONSIDERING H5 MODEL DIFFERENCES WITH STEERING. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... NASHVILLE 83 66 87 63 / 70 20 0 10 CLARKSVILLE 84 66 87 64 / 50 10 0 10 CROSSVILLE 78 63 81 60 / 70 60 40 10 COLUMBIA 84 68 86 64 / 70 30 10 10 LAWRENCEBURG 84 68 86 64 / 70 50 20 10 WAVERLY 84 67 87 64 / 50 20 0 10 && .OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 04
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 523 AM CDT SAT JUL 4 2009 TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-051030- STEWART-MONTGOMERY-ROBERTSON-SUMNER-MACON-CLAY-PICKETT-BENTON- HOUSTON-HUMPHREYS-DICKSON-CHEATHAM-DAVIDSON-WILSON-TROUSDALE- SMITH-JACKSON-PUTNAM-OVERTON-FENTRESS-PERRY-HICKMAN-LEWIS- WILLIAMSON-MAURY-MARSHALL-RUTHERFORD-CANNON-DEKALB-WHITE- CUMBERLAND-BEDFORD-COFFEE-WARREN-GRUNDY-VAN BUREN-WAYNE-LAWRENCE- GILES- 523 AM CDT SAT JUL 4 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE MID STATE THIS EVENING...AND SWING THROUGH THE AREA TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME LIKELY...AND A FEW MAY BECOME SEVERE...WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL. HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO OCCUR...WITH AVERAGE RAIN AMOUNTS BETWEEN ONE AND ONE AND A HALF INCHES. LOCALIZED FLOOD PROBLEMS MAY DEVELOP DURING THUNDERSTORM DOWNPOURS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL ON SUNDAY...AND A FEW STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN HALF OF THE MID STATE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED. 19
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 1029 PM CDT SAT JUL 4 2009 TNZ022>024-050430- BENTON-HOUSTON-HUMPHREYS- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...CAMDEN...ERIN...WAVERLY 1029 PM CDT SAT JUL 4 2009 ...MORE RAIN MOVING INTO BENTON AND HUMPREYS COUNTIES... THUNDERSTORMS HAVE MOVED ACROSS BENTON COUNTY AND ARE NOW CROSSING THE TENNESSEE RIVER INTO HUMPREYS COUNTY. RAINFALL RATES WILL EXCEED 2 INCHES PER HOUR ALONG HIGHWAY 70 THROUGH 1130 PM CDT. THIS WILL CAUSE WATER TO POND ON ROADWAYS AND COULD LEAD TO SMALL STREAMS RUNNING FULL. MOTORISTS ARE URGED NOT TO DRIVE WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD. BOYD
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 133 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:23 UTC.
2 flash flood, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Campers were inundated by flood waters near the community of West Point in southern Lawrence County. Some vehicles were submerged in the flood waters.
A few canoers were stranded overnight along the Buffalo River. Newspaper also reported that up to 8 inches of rain severely flooded the Buffalo and created havoc at Crazy Horse Canoes and RV Park and Clearwater Canoe Rental. Business owners said about 130 canoes were washed downstream but most could be recovered eventually. Five vehicles were either totally or partially submerged in flood waters awaiting salvage.
Lightning struck a three story home at 2225 Austin Bottom Road, causing a blaze in the basement of the home. Details concerning amount of damage to basement of home unknown. No one was injured.
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, July 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: 186937, 186941, 187403.