Showers and thunderstorms developed across mainly the western half of Middle Tennessee as the day progressed in response to deepening surface and aloft southerly flow. This was in association with a developing low pressure system over the central plains.
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.
Showers and thunderstorms developed across mainly the western half of Middle Tennessee as the day progressed in response to deepening surface and aloft southerly flow. This was in association with a developing low pressure system over the central plains. As a result, these areas experienced flooding/flash flooding. One elderly man was killed indirectly by lightning in Marshall County.
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 Sep 22, 2:50 AM CST, 2 hours 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 350 AM CDT TUE SEP 22 2009 .DISCUSSION... THE PREVIOUS H5 TROUGH BROUGHT IN A BIT OF DRY AIR ALOFT AND AS A RESULT HAS DIMINISHED POPS TO SOME EXTENT. THAT DRY SLOT CAN BE SEEN IN WINDOW CHANNEL IR EXTENDING FROM NE MS THROUGH MIDDLE TENNESSEE AND NWD INTO THE CNTRL GREAT LAKES. TO THE WEST... A STRONG H5 LOW IS LOCATED OVER THE NE-KS-CO TRI-STATE AREA WITH STRONG SLY/SWLY FLOW OVER THE PLAINS AND MS VALLEY. A LOOP OF THE IR CHANNEL SHOWS MID LEVEL MOISTURE PUSHING NEWD OUT OF ALABAMA INTO THE ERN HALF OF THE MIDSTATE. THUS I WOULD EXPECT CONVECTION TO INITIATE THERE FIRST THIS MORNING AND THEN FIRE OFF ELSEWHERE AS DAYTIME HEATING TAKES HOLD. BOTH THE GFS AND EURO WALLOW THE TRI-STATE H5 LOW AROUND IN THE WRN PLAINS FOR THE TUE-THU TIME PERIOD BEFORE MOVING IT EWD INTO THE GREAT LAKES ON SAT. THAT WOULD BRING A SFC COLD FRONT INTO THE MIDSTATE ON SAT WITH POPS DIMINISHING SAT NGT THRU SUN NGT. NO RAIN EXPECTED FOR THE MON TO WED TIME PERIOD AS MUCH COOLER AND DRIER AIR MOVES INTO THE AREA. GFS AND EURO SEEM TO BE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT ON THIS IDEA. WITH TEMPS RUNNING ABOVE NORMAL FOR MOST OF THE MONTH...MOTHER NATURE WILL BRING A HEALTHY DOSE OF FALL WEATHER EARLY NEXT WEEK. 850MB TEMPS DROP FROM THEIR CURRENT +16C TO +4-8C BY NEXT TUE MORNING. RAINFALL EXPECTATIONS...HPCS 5 DAY TOTALS SHOW 1.25 TO 2.5 INCHES OVER THE AREA WITH HEAVIER AMOUNTS IN THE WEST. IT SEEMS TO BE EVENLY DISTRIBUTED BETWEEN THE 1-3 AND 4-5 DAY TIME PERIODS. SEVERE WEATHER...SPCS CURRENT PROGS INDICATE NO EXPECTATION FOR SVR TSTMS THROUGH DAY 3. HOWEVER...DAY 4 AND DAY 5 SEEM TO HAVE SOME REASONABLE EXPECTATION FOR SVR TSTMS AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... NASHVILLE 83 67 85 68 / 60 30 50 30 CLARKSVILLE 84 67 83 66 / 50 30 50 30 CROSSVILLE 75 62 81 63 / 60 30 50 30 COLUMBIA 83 66 85 68 / 60 30 50 30 LAWRENCEBURG 83 66 86 67 / 60 30 50 30 WAVERLY 83 67 83 67 / 50 30 50 30 && .OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && JLM
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 430 AM CDT TUE SEP 22 2009 TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-231030- 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- 430 AM CDT TUE SEP 22 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SHOWERS ARE LIKELY IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE TODAY...MAINLY SOUTH AND EAST. BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL COULD PRODUCE MINOR FLOODING OF LOW- LYING AREAS AND PONDING OF WATER ON ROADWAYS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS REMAIN IN THE FORECAST. A COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO PUSH ACROSS THE REGION ON FRIDAY OR FRIDAY NIGHT. STORMS COULD BE STRONG TO SEVERE WITH THIS FRONT. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS AND LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT HEAVY RAINFALL AMOUNTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE. 04
The Nashville radar (KOHX), 157 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 11:31 UTC.
2 flash flood, 2 flood, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash flooding totally washed-out over flooded tiles on several county road.
Lightning from a thunderstorm struck a utility pole at the end of a 83 year old man's driveway. The lightning's charge went to the man's house and started a fire, that destroyed most of the home, and also killed the man.
Flooding caused some roads to become impassible across the county.
Major flooding occurred in low lying areas around Clifton. Several roads around Clifton became impassible, including Main Street and West Elm Street which were closed due to the flooding. Newspaper also reported that that the Hasti-Mart convenience store was flooded. The store suffered no major damage, only a clean up was needed of 3-4 inches of water that covered the floor.
Four county roads were closed due to flooding across the county.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, Marshall | 2009-09-22 | 83 | Male | Permanent Home | Indirect |
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, September 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: 196927, 196924, 196930, 196446, 196929.