Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 15, 2009

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 15, 2009
Start: 2009-05-15T10:23
End: 2009-05-15T16:53
Location: Tennessee

May 15, 2009 · NWS OHX · 11 events in 7 counties and zones

Scattered thunderstorms developed during the late morning through the early evening hours, as Middle Tennessee was experiencing a very unstable air mass in association with a very large low pressure system that streched from Maine to Wisconsin to New Mexico that would move eastward as the late afternoon hours progressed. Several large hail and a couple of thunderstorm wind damage events occurred…

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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: 0
Property damage: $22,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

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.

What forecasters said that day

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 May 15, 8:19 AM CST, 2 hours 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 15, 8:19 AM CST, 2 hours 4 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
919 AM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009

.MESO UPDATE...
12Z KBNA RAOB UNSTABLE WITH DEEP MOISTURE. HEATING SHOULD TRIGGER
SCT ACTIVITY. WIND GUST POTENTIAL TO 50 MPH WITH CELL BASED VIL
AROUND 40. NO WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 301 AM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009/

DISCUSSION...
LATEST ANALYSIS SHOWING FRONTAL BOUNDARY SITTING JUST NORTH OF THE
CWA THIS MORNING...WHILE UPPER FLOW REMAINS GENERALLY ZONAL WITH A
FEW PERTURBATIONS HERE AND THERE. AIRMASS REMAINS UNSTABLE JUST TO
THE SOUTH...WHERE A FEW STORMS ARE POPPING UP ACROSS NORTH MS...UP
TO NEAR MEM.

A WET COUPLE OF DAYS REMAINS IN THE WORKS. SFC BOUNDARY EXPECTED
TO LIFT FURTHER NORTH TODAY/TONIGHT AS A SFC LOW MOVES INTO THE
UPPER MID-WEST BY DAYS END AND AND TRIES TO MERGE WITH GREAT LAKES
LOW LATER TONIGHT. THIS WILL MOVE THE CWA INTO WARM MORE UNSTABLE
SECTOR. INCREASE IN DEEPER MOISTURE AND ML UVV EXPECTED TO SET OFF
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS TODAY. SCATTERED SHOWERS/STORMS WILL
REMAIN TONIGHT AS WELL BUT SHOULD BE LESS NUMEROUS WITH VERY
LITTLE UVV AND DIURNAL AFFECTS.

MAIN PUSH IS EXPECTED ON SATURDAY AND INTO THE EVENING. SFC/LL
LOWS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTHEAST AHEAD OF ML/UL TROUGH...WHICH
IS EXPECTED TO BRING A COLD FRONT ACROSS THE CWA IN THE LATE
AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. WITH AN INCREASE IN LL FORCING AS
WELL AS A PRETTY UNSTABLE AIRMASS...SHOWERS AND STORMS ARE
EXPECTED TO BECOME NUMEROUS. SHOWERS AND STORMS COULD REMAIN
PLENTIFUL WELL INTO THE EVENING...ESPECIALLY SOUTH...BUT WILL
TAPER OFF OVERNIGHT AND INTO SUNDAY AS FRONT MOVES WELL SOUTH AND
EAST BY 12Z SUN.

UPPER TROUGH WILL SWING ACROSS LATE SUNDAY MORNING...FOLLOWED BY
A FAIRLY LONG-LASTING UPPER RIDGE. THIS WILL SET THE STAGE FOR A
STRING OF DRY WARM DAYS INTO LATE NEXT WEEK.

&&

.OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.
&&

04

Hazardous weather outlook, May 15, 8:50 AM CST, 1 hour 33 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
950 AM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009

ADDED SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT

TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-161500-
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-
950 AM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP TODAY. STRONGER
STORMS COULD PRODUCE SMALL HAIL AND WINDS GUSTS TO 50 MPH. THE
PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP SATURDAY AHEAD OF A COLD
FRONT. ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDESTORMS ARE POSSIBLE. THE
PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

DUE TO THE BRIEF AND ISOLATED NATURE OF POSSIBLE SEVERE WEATHER
SATURDAY...SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

04

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 137 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:23 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Fentress

When: May 15, 10:23 AM CST
Where: Fentress County, 8 mi S of Jamestown
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 36.314, -84.920

One inch hail was reported.

Thunderstorm Wind, Pickett

When: May 15, 1:00 PM CST
Where: Pickett County, Byrdstown
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 36.570, -85.130

Trees were reported down in Byrdstown.

Hail, Pickett

When: May 15, 1:00 PM CST
Where: Pickett County, Byrdstown
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 36.570, -85.130

Penny size hail was reported in Byrdstown.

Hail, Rutherford

When: May 15, 1:17 PM CST
Where: Rutherford County, 1.88 mi SW of Christiana
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 35.698, -86.420

Nickel size hail was reported along Highway 231 South.

Thunderstorm Wind, Dekalb

When: May 15, 1:25 PM CST
Where: Dekalb County, 3 mi SW of Smithville
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $12,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 35.939, -85.888

Several trees were reported blown down.

Hail, Rutherford

When: May 15, 1:27 PM CST
Where: Rutherford County, 2.86 mi SSE of Murfreesboro
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 35.813, -86.397

Quarter size hail was reported near the intersection of Interstate 24 and Church Street.

Hail, Van Buren

When: May 15, 1:31 PM CST
Where: Van Buren County, Spencer
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 35.750, -85.470

Penny size hail was reported in Spencer.

Hail, White

When: May 15, 1:35 PM CST
Where: White County, Sparta
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 35.930, -85.470

Quarter size hail was reported in Sparta.

Hail, Davidson

When: May 15, 4:05 PM CST
Where: Davidson County, 0.62 mi NW of Glencliff
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 36.125, -86.709

In the Murfreesboro Pike area, nickel to quarter size hail was reported.

Hail, Davidson

When: May 15, 4:10 PM CST
Where: Davidson County, 1.34 mi SW of Madison
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 36.236, -86.787

Nickel size hail was reported at the intersection of Interstate 24 and Briley Parkway.

Hail, Davidson

When: May 15, 4:53 PM CST
Where: Davidson County, 1.23 mi W of Madison
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 36.249, -86.792

Penny size hail was reported on Brick Church Lane near the intersection with Knight Road.

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Tennessee in 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in Tennessee, May 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: 173098, 172896, 172897, 173097, 173070, 172899, 172895, 172898, 173096, 173093, 173091.