An area of showers developed during the early morning hours across southwestern portions of Middle Tennessee in response to deepening southerly flow ushering in additional moisture to the area. The hardest hit location was Lawrenceburg in Lawrence County where flash flooding resulted in a person being trapped on top of a car.
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.
An area of showers developed during the early morning hours across southwestern portions of Middle Tennessee in response to deepening southerly flow ushering in additional moisture to the area. The hardest hit location was Lawrenceburg in Lawrence County where flash flooding resulted in a person being trapped on top of a car.
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, 11:51 PM CST, 44 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 1251 AM CDT WED SEP 23 2009 .UPDATE...SEE AVIATION DISCUSSION BELOW. && .AVIATION... STEADY SHOWERS FOR KBNA NEXT 3-6 HRS AS NOCTURNAL SYSTEM LIFTS MOISTURE ACR W MID TN. SYS KEEPS W MID TN VERY MOIST THROUGH 24-HRS. MAINLY MVFR CIGS/VIS. SYS HAS LITTLE IMPACT AT KCSV. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 749 PM CDT TUE SEP 22 2009/ UPDATE... FOR EVENING FCST DISCUSSION... CONVECTION NOW COVERS THE WESTERN QUARTER OF THE MID STATE. PRECIPITATION EXTENDS SOUTHWARD THROUGH A LARGE PORTION OF MS. NAM APPEARS TO BE TOO DRY WITH THE SYSTEM WHILE THE GFS IS TOO BULLISH WITH THE QPF RETURN. GFS SEEMS TO HAVE THE BEST HANDLE ON A NORTHWARD MOVING VORTICITY CENTER AND SFC LOW WHICH WILL BE APPROACHING SOUTHWESTERN PORTIONS OF THE MID STATE AS WE APPROACH 12Z OVERNIGHT. AS FOR FLOODING CONCERNS...GUIDANCE IS RATHER ELEVATED ACROSS OUR WESTERN COUNTIES. WITH THE AFOREMENTIONED VORT CENTER EXPECTED TO WEAKEN SOME TOWARD 12Z...HAVE DECIDED TO NOT INCLUDE ANY FLOOD WATCH FOR THE OVERNIGHT. FOR THE UPDATE...CURRENT FCST LOOKS GOOD WITH THE POP COVERAGES. 70 POPS NORTHWEST DOWN TO 20 PERCENT EASTERN PLATEAU. I THINK I WILL GO AHEAD AND INCLUDE 70 POPS(AS OPPOSED TO 50 POPS) ACROSS THE SOUTHWESTERN ZONES AS WELL HOWEVER. REMAINDER OF FCST IS IN GOOD SHAPE. LIGHT SE FLOW SHOULD CONTINUE AHEAD OF THE NORTHWARD MOVING SFC LOW. DEW POINTS ARE GENERALLY AROUND 70F RIGHT NOW...SO LOW TEMPS IN THE 65 TO 70F RANGE LOOKS REASONABLE. UPDATE...FOR 00Z AVIATION DISCUSSION. AVIATION...00Z AVIATION DISCUSSION. UNCERTAINTIES...CEILINGS...VSBYS...AND TIMING DEVELOPMENT/LOCATIONS OF SHWRS/TSTMS. MAIN SWATH SHWRS/TSTMS THRU 05Z TO STAY W OF BNA...AND THUS VCTS. ZONE AREAL COVERAGE TONIGHT MAINLY SCT AND ON WED LIKELY...AND WITH TIMING DEVELOPMENT/LOCATIONS OF SHWRS/TSTMS AFFECTING AIRPORTS IN QUESTION...WILL GO WITH VCTS BOTH LOCATIONS STARTING 23/20Z WHEN BEST MOISTURE...INSTABILITY...AND LIFTING MECHANISMS WILL BE IN PLACE. VFR EXCEPT MVFR VSBYS BNA/CSV 23/09Z TO 23/14Z AND 23/05Z TO 23/14Z DUE TO FOG DEVELOPMENT RESPECTIVELY. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 300 PM CDT TUE SEP 22 2009/ DISCUSSION...MAIN CONCERNS FOR THIS FORECAST PERIOD ARE TIMING AND PROBABILITIES FOR RAINFALL. SEEMS LOTS OF FOLKS HAVE PLANNED OUTDOOR EVENTS WITH EXPECTATIONS OF NORMAL...GENERALLY DRY FALL WX...BUT THE PAST WEEK HAS NOT BEEN NORMAL AT ALL. WE ARE ALREADY IN THE TOP 5 WETTEST SEPTEMBERS ON RECORD. RAINFALL TOTALS ARE MORE THAN 5 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL...AND MORE RAIN IS ON THE WAY. SCATTERED SHOWERS HAVE OCCURRED OVER THE MID STATE TODAY...BUT RECENT RADAR IMAGES ARE PRETTY QUIET WITH MOST OF THE ACTIVITY FOCUSED ALONG A SURFACE CONVERGENCE ZONE JUST TO OUR WEST. WE LOOK FOR SOME OF THIS ACTIVITY TO SHIFT INTO OUR NORTHWEST COUNTIES LATE TODAY...SO HIGH POPS MAY BE INCLUDED THERE FOR THE EVENING. OTHERWISE...MOST OF THE RAIN SHOULD BE DIURNAL IN NATURE...SO JUST 20-30 POPS WILL BE USED FOR LATE TONIGHT. ON WEDNESDAY...DEEP MOISTURE REMAINS OVER THE REGION AS PRETTY GOOD LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE OCCURS JUST TO OUR WEST. THIS WILL MEAN HIGH PROBABILITIES FOR RAIN...ESPECIALLY OVER OUR WESTERN COUNTIES. WATER VAPOR IMAGES SHOW MOISTURE RICH AIR STREAMING OUR WAY...AND FORECAST SOUNDINGS INDICATE PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES WELL OVER 2 INCHES IN SOME AREAS. SO LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS EXPECTED. WE WILL NOT ISSUE A FLOOD WATCH AT THIS TIME...BUT LATER SHIFTS WILL NEED TO EVALUATE CONDITIONS FOR THIS POSSIBILITY. AS WE GO INTO THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...A LARGE CLOSED LOW WILL SPIN OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS WHILE DOWNSTREAM RIDGING DEVELOPS OVER THE TN AND OH VALLEY REGIONS. HIGHER HEIGHTS WILL BE A LIMITING FACTOR FOR RAIN...BUT OTHER PARAMETERS REMAIN FAVORABLE. AGAIN...OUR WESTERN COUNTIES APPEAR TO HAVE THE BEST CHANCE FOR RAIN ON THESE DAYS. SOME COULD BE LOCALLY HEAVY. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS MAY GET A LITTLE FEISTY...WITH BRIEF LOCAL GUSTY WINDS POSSIBLE. MORE SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL OCCUR INTO SATURDAY AS WEATHER SYSTEMS BEGIN TO MOVE AND A SURFACE FRONT SWEEPS OVER THE AREA. MODELS SHOW THE ATMOSPHERE DRYING OUT SIGNIFICANTLY OVER THE WEEKEND. ANOTHER FRONT WILL ARRIVE BY MONDAY BRINGING GENUINE EARLY FALL WX. DRY WX IS EXPECTED THROUGH MUCH OF NEXT WEEK && .OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 04
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 537 PM 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- 537 PM CDT TUE SEP 22 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT MAINLY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT... ...MAINLY ALONG AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 65. 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. 31/JBW
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
900 PM CDT TUE SEP 22 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0853 PM FLASH FLOOD CLIFTON 35.38N 87.99W
09/22/2009 WAYNE TN LAW ENFORCEMENT
MAJOR FLOODING BEING REPORTED IN LOW LYING AREAS AROUND
CLIFTON. ROADS AROUND CLIFTON ARE BECOMING DIFFICULT TO
CROSS IN PLACES AND SEVERAL MAY BECOME IMPASSIBLE IF
ADDITIONAL RAINFALL OCCURS.
&&
JBWPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
1023 PM CDT TUE SEP 22 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1020 PM FLASH FLOOD CLIFTON 35.38N 87.99W
09/22/2009 WAYNE TN LAW ENFORCEMENT
MAINSTREET AND WEST ELM STREET CLOSED IN CLIFTON DUE TO
FLOODING.
&&
21PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
1029 PM CDT TUE SEP 22 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0853 PM FLASH FLOOD CLIFTON 35.38N 87.99W
09/22/2009 WAYNE TN LAW ENFORCEMENT
MAJOR FLOODING BEING REPORTED IN LOW LYING AREAS AROUND
CLIFTON. ROADS AROUND CLIFTON ARE BECOMING DIFFICULT TO
CROSS IN PLACES AND SEVERAL MAY BECOME IMPASSIBLE IF
ADDITIONAL RAINFALL OCCURS.
1020 PM FLASH FLOOD CLIFTON 35.38N 87.99W
09/22/2009 WAYNE TN LAW ENFORCEMENT
MAINSTREET AND WEST ELM STREET CLOSED IN CLIFTON DUE TO
FLOODING.
&&
JBWThe Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 124 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:35 UTC.
2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Emergency Manager reported person trapped on top of car on Long Branch Road southwest of the city of Lawrenceburg. Final condition of person and car was unknown.
Emergency Manager reported six inches of water over West Point Road in the city of Lawrenceburg.
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: 196487, 196488.