Convection developed in isolated fashion ahead of a cold front which arrived at the peak of heating. Shear appeared to be adequate with a deep westerly wind field.
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.
Convection developed in isolated fashion ahead of a cold front which arrived at the peak of heating. Shear appeared to be adequate with a deep westerly wind field. However instability was rather weak and this kept severe convection limited.
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 Sep 3, 12:22 PM EST, 1 hour 13 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 122 PM EDT FRI SEP 3 2010 .AVIATION...A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE TAF SITES BETWEEN 23-02Z THIS EVENING. SCATTERD SHOWERS AND POSSIBLY A THUNDERSTORM BETWEEN 18-23Z MAY PRODUCE BRIEF IFR CONDITIONS WITH GUSTY WINDS. OTHERWISE...VFR CONDITIONS WILL BE THE RULE WITH CLOUDS MOVING EAST OF THE AREA BY 03Z THIS EVENING. BREEZY SUSTAIN SOUTHWEST WINDS AHEAD OF THE FRONT BETWEEN 10-15KTS WILL COME WEST-NORTHWEST AFTER FRONTAL PASSAGE. WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS WILL DIMINISH OVERNIGHT TO 5KTS OF LESS...THEN INCREASE TO 5 TO 10KTS SATURDAY MORNING. && .MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...NONE. TN...NONE. VA...NONE. && DH
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 446 AM EDT FRI SEP 3 2010 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-040900- 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- 446 AM EDT FRI SEP 3 2010 /346 AM CDT FRI SEP 3 2010/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT HURRICANE EARL WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTH JUST OFF THE MID ATLANTIC COASTAL AREAS TODAY...WHILE A COLD FRONT APPROACHES THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AND SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS THIS AFTERNOON. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT...BUT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. TG
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 135 PM EDT FRI SEP 3 2010 TNZ013>016-036>039-067-069-070-031830- ANDERSON TN-CAMPBELL TN-CLAIBORNE TN-GRAINGER TN-HAMBLEN TN-HANCOCK TN-HAWKINS TN-JEFFERSON TN-KNOX TN-ROANE TN-UNION TN- 135 PM EDT FRI SEP 3 2010 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHERN KNOX...JEFFERSON... CLAIBORNE...HANCOCK...HAWKINS...CAMPBELL...UNION...GRAINGER... HAMBLEN...ANDERSON AND EASTERN ROANE COUNTIES UNTIL 230 PM EDT... AT 130 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HARROGATE-SHAWANEE TO CLINTON...AND MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH. WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS INCLUDE...CLINTON... MAYNARDVILLE...RUTLEDGE...SNEEDVILLE...JEFFERSON CITY... HARROGATE-SHAWANEE...TAZEWELL...BEAN STATION...NEW MARKET...NORRIS LAKE...SHARPS CHAPEL...SPRINGDALE...POWELL...SANDLICK...ROSE HILL... PAULETTE...HALLS...LONE MOUNTAIN...LUTTRELL AND HOWARD QUARTER. IN ADDITION TO GUSTY WINDS...OCCASIONAL CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM. MOVE INDOORS IMMEDIATELY! LIGHTNING IS ONE OF NATURES PRIMARY KILLERS ASSOCIATED WITH THUNDERSTORMS. REMEMBER...IF YOU CAN HEAR THUNDER...YOU ARE CLOSE ENOUGH TO BE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. DH
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 13 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:36 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Three trees were reported down across roads in the eastern third of the county.
Two trees were reported down near Panther Creek.
One tree was reported down on East Morris Boulevard.
An isolated thunderstorm produced wind damage in a small area in the higher elevations of Shady Valley. Several trees were blown down by thunderstorm winds.
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, September 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: 256266, 256269, 256270, 262509.