Vorticity lobe rotated northeast across East Tennessee in larger parent circulation around Northwest Missouri upper level low pressure system. Convection became severe producing some large hail and wind damage in an area where cold air aloft was coincident with a low level jet and zone of low level convergence ahead of a cold 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.
Vorticity lobe rotated northeast across East Tennessee in larger parent circulation around Northwest Missouri upper level low pressure system. Convection became severe producing some large hail and wind damage in an area where cold air aloft was coincident with a low level jet and zone of low level convergence ahead of a cold 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 Mar 12, 12:45 PM EST, 11 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
1245 PM EST FRI MAR 12 2010
.DISCUSSION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM EST
FOR MUCH OF E TN AND PORTIONS OF SW VA AND SW NC. BEST INSTABILITY
REMAINS S OF THE AREA. HOWEVER COLD MID LEVEL TEMPS AND MODERATELY
STRONG MID LEVEL WINDS COULD INITIATE SEVERE WX WITH ANY SUSTAINED
UPDRAFT.
&&
.AVIATION...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE NE THROUGH TAF
SITES THIS EVENING. IFR CONDITIONS AND STRONG WIND GUSTS WILL
ACCOMPANY STORMS. AREA OF CONVECTION WILL MOVE MOVE NE OF AREA AS
COLD FRONT MOVE EAST INTO THE AREA TONIGHT. FOG WILL LIKELY DEVELOP
A COOLER AIR MOVES IN OVERNIGHT.
&&
.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE TONIGHT FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
CHEROKEE...CLAY.
TN...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: JOHNSON...NORTHWEST CARTER...NORTHWEST GREENE...
SOUTHEAST CARTER...SOUTHEAST GREENE...SULLIVAN...UNICOI...
WASHINGTON TN.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS...COCKE SMOKY MOUNTAINS...
EAST POLK...MCMINN...NW BLOUNT...NORTH SEVIER...NORTHWEST
COCKE...NORTHWEST MONROE...SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS...
SOUTHEAST MONROE...WEST POLK.
FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE TONIGHT FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
BLEDSOE...BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS...BRADLEY...COCKE SMOKY
MOUNTAINS...EAST POLK...HAMILTON...JOHNSON...MARION...
MCMINN...MEIGS...NORTHWEST MONROE...RHEA...SEQUATCHIE...
SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS...SOUTHEAST CARTER...SOUTHEAST
GREENE...SOUTHEAST MONROE...UNICOI...WEST POLK.
VA...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: RUSSELL...WASHINGTON.
&&
SONHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 429 AM EST FRI MAR 12 2010 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-130930- 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- 429 AM EST FRI MAR 12 2010 /329 AM CST FRI MAR 12 2010/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT LOW PRESSURE WILL DEVELOP OVER THE GULF COAST STATES TODAY AND TRACK NORTHEAST TOWARD THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AND SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. AN ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL ALSO MOVE EAST ACROSS THE REGION BY THIS EVENING. SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS MORNING AND LAST THROUGH THE EVENING...WITH A FEW SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE. DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT...ESPECIALLY OVER THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU...SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE AND CHEROKEE AND CLAY COUNTIES OF NORTH CAROLINA. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS COULD ALSO CAUSE FLOODING. VERY STRONG SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS WILL OCCUR IN THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS...WITH GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH POSSIBLE FROM MID TO LATE MORNING THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT. TG
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 74 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:54 UTC.
5 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flooding occurred due to heavy rainfall, which moved through and over a retaining wall and flooded a home in the East Ridge area of Chattanooga. Street flooding was also reported through these areas due to the heavy rainfall.
Dime size hail was reported in Ooltewah.
Dime size hail was reported in Cleveland.
Street flooding was reported along Dalton Pike.
Quarter size hail was reported one mile southwest of Greenback.
Quarter size hail was reported at Delano and Benton.
One tree was reported down in Knoxville.
Nickel size hail was reported at the home of a dispatcher.
Several trees were downed in Harrogate. One tree was down across highway 63 in Speedwell.
A few trees were downed on Powell River Road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, March 2010
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: 222601, 216167, 216169, 222600, 216171, 216172, 216174, 216173, 216175, 216176.