An upper level trough of low pressure with associated surface low and cold front moved across Eastern Tennessee late in the afternoon with extension into the early evening hours. This allowed for the formation of scattered convection in the moderately unstable atmospheric conditions just ahead of the front.
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.
An upper level trough of low pressure with associated surface low and cold front moved across Eastern Tennessee late in the afternoon with extension into the early evening hours. This allowed for the formation of scattered convection in the moderately unstable atmospheric conditions just ahead of the front.
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 Jul 5, 1:32 PM EST, 3 hours 28 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 232 PM EDT SUN JUL 5 2009 .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT AND MONDAY)... SHOWERS ARE DEVELOPING OVER MIDDLE TN IN ASSOCIATION WITH A PRE- FRONTAL TROUGH. EXTRAOPLATION OF THESE SHOWERS BRINGS THEM INTO OUR AREA BETWEEN 00Z AND MIDNIGHT. SO WILL HAVE LIKELY POPS IN THE EVENING HOURS. NOT IMPRESSED WITH THE SEVERE THREAT FOR OUR AREA AS OVERCAST CLOUDS ALL DAY WILL PREVENT MUCH DESTABILIZATION...AND ORGANIZED UPPER DYNAMICS ARE LACKING. WILL ALSO JUST MENTION A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. THE LOW WILL BE EAST OF THE AREA BY MIDNIGHT...WITH A WEAK FRONT SLOWLY TRAILING BEHIND. SATELLITE INDICATES PLENTY OF LOW CLOUDS BEHIND THE FRONT...BUT NOT MUCH PRECIP. DRY AIR ALOFT WILL BE WORKING ITS WAY SOUTH LATE TONIGHT AND TOMORROW. EXPECTED CONVECTION ALONG THE GULF COAST SHOULD PREVENT NORTHWARD MOISTURE TRANSPORT AND FURTHER DECREASE OUR PRECIP CHANCES. AS A RESULT...WENT WITH THE DRIER NAM FOR TOMORROW AND WILL TAPER THE POPS BACK FROM NORTH TO SOUTH THROUGH THE DAY...WITH JUST A SLIGHT CHANCE IN THE SOUTHERN VALLEY IN THE AFTERNOON. .LONG TERM (MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY)... LATEST SHORT RANGE MODELS HAVE COLD FRONT JUST TO THE SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA BY MONDAY EVENING WITH A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LINGERING ACROSS THE SE MOUNTAINS. TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT UPPER TROUGH LINGERS ACROSS THE NE STATES WITH NW FLOW ACROSS THE TN VALLEY AND SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. STILL ENOUGH INSTABILITY FOR SOME SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS DURING PEAK HEATING HOURS SO LEFT SLIGHT CHANCE THERE. WEDNESDAY LOOKS LIKE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL STAY ON THE EAST SIDE SO KEPT FORECAST DRY. HOWEVER TROUGH ACROSS NE BEGINS TO MOVE EAST AND RIDGING OVER THE CENTRAL STATES EDGES EAST WARMING THE ATMOSPHERE SO SLIGHTLY WARMER TEMPERATURES. THURSDAY GFS SHOWS WEAK SYSTEM MOVING ACROSS OHIO VALLEY AND CLIPPING OUR NE AREA BUT ECMWF DRY SO KEEPING FORECAST DRY FOR NOW. RIDGING MOVING IN FROM THE WEST WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES WARMER AND AN INCREASE OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE BY FRIDAY KEEPS ISOLATED SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY POSSIBLE IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. A COLD FRONT MOVES INTO THE OHIO VALLEY SATURDAY AND THEN POSSIBLY INTO THE FORECAST AREA BY LATE SUNDAY. SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY. THE HIGHER CHANCES WILL BE IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... CHATTANOOGA AIRPORT, TN 70 84 66 90 64 / 70 30 10 10 10 KNOXVILLE MCGHEE TYSON AIRPORT, TN 68 84 62 88 63 / 70 20 10 10 10 OAK RIDGE, TN 68 84 62 89 62 / 70 20 10 10 10 TRI CITIES AIRPORT, TN 65 82 59 86 57 / 70 10 10 10 10 && .MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...NONE. TN...NONE. VA...NONE. && DGS/TD
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 323 AM EDT SUN JUL 5 2009 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-060900- 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- 323 AM EDT SUN JUL 5 2009 /223 AM CDT SUN JUL 5 2009/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL SAG SOUTH INTO THE AREA TODAY. SOME SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED...AND A FEW OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE...ESPECIALLY OVER SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE AREA. DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREATS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TODAY.
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 66 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:57 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A 100 year old elm tree fell onto a home which resulted in damage to the home's deck, back room, and the roof over the kitchen.
One tree was reported down on Gamble Gap Road two miles northwest of Tellico Plains.
A few trees were reported down six miles east of Cleveland in the vicinity of Climer.
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: 180842, 180828, 180830.