During the early morning hours on Tuesday, April 26th, a line of showers and thunderstorms moved into central and eastern portions of Middle Tennessee. Some of these thunderstorms reached severe thresholds, resulting in thunderstorm wind damage events in six counties, and large hail reported in another county.
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.
During the early morning hours on Tuesday, April 26th, a line of showers and thunderstorms moved into central and eastern portions of Middle Tennessee. Some of these thunderstorms reached severe thresholds, resulting in thunderstorm wind damage events in six counties, and large hail reported in another county. In the late evening, a severe thunderstorm develped over Perry County, resulting in a thunderstorm wind damage and large hail event.
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 Apr 25, 10:40 PM CST, 1 hour 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 1140 PM CDT MON APR 25 2011 .UPDATE...FOR 06Z TAFS. && .AVIATION...CONVECTIVE LINE WILL BE THE WEATHER MAKER TONIGHT. SPEED OF LINE INDICATES IT SHOULD AFFECT KBNA BY 07Z AND WHAT IS LEFT OF THE LINE WILL AFFECT KCSV BY 10Z. EXPECT VFR-MVFR CONDITIONS PRIOR TO THE LINE ARRIVING AND THEN MOSTLY IFR-MVFR CONDITIONS AFTER THE LINE ARRIVES. ALSO EXPECT STRONG TO SEVERE WINDS IN AND AROUND TSTMS...MAINLY FOR KBNA...MUCH LESS SO FOR KCSV. STEADY STATE SFC WINDS WILL CONTINUE OUT OF THE SOUTH AT 10-20 MPH TONIGHT AND THEN INCREASE TOMORROW MORNING TO 15-30 MPH OUT OF THE SOUTH. EXPECT IMPROVEMENT OF CIGS/VSBYS LATE TOMORROW MORNING AFTER THE LINE HAS WEAKENED. AWAITING THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF SEVERE WEATHER FOR TUE NGT-WED. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 1100 PM CDT MON APR 25 2011/ MESOSCALE UPDATE... LINE OF SVR STORMS MOVG INTO W TN. LINE EXPECTED TO PUSH INTO THE TN RVR AREA SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT. ATM ACR MID TN IS MORE STABLE WITH A GRADUAL WEAKENING OF LINE EXPECTED. HOWEVER SOME AREAS IN W MID TN EXPECTED TO GET STRONG TO DAMAGING WINDS NEXT 1-3 HRS. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 522 PM CDT MON APR 25 2011/ MESOSCALE UPDATE... MID TN IN A LULL BTW SYSTEMS. SMALL SYS THAT CLIPPED STEWART- MONTGOMERY CO AROUND 4 PM LIFTED N OF THE AREA WITH DRIER AIR WORKING IN BEHIND IT. LAPS DATA SHOWS HIGHER SHEAR/DESTAB WEST OF THE COUNTY WARNING AREA. CANCELLED SEVERE TSTM WATCH #203 FOR MID TN. NEXT ROUND OF STORMS DEVELOPING IN AR ATTM. SYS WL MOVE INTO MID TN AFT MIDNIGHT WITH 1-2 INCHES OF RAINFALL EXPECTED THRU TUE MORN. SLGT RISK OF SEVERE STORMS ON TRACK. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 343 PM CDT MON APR 25 2011/ SHORT TERM...THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THAT OCCURRED OVER WESTERN PARTS OF THE MID STATE EARLY TODAY FIZZLED OUT AS THEY MOVED EASTWARD. HOWEVER, ANOTHER CLUSTER OF STORMS DEVELOPED OVER WESTERN TENNESSEE EARLY IN THE AFTERNOON AND STARTED PUSHING INTO NORTHWESTERN COUNTIES BY 330 PM. SPC HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR A LARGE PART OF THE MID STATE, THAT RUNS UNTIL 8 PM CDT, INCLUDING THE NASHVILLE METRO AREA. THESE SHOWERS AND STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS AN AREA THAT RECEIVED BETWEEN 1 AND 2 INCHES OF RAIN YESTERDAY...AND SIMILAR AMOUNTS COULD OCCUR THIS AFTERNOON. ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL PUSH ACROSS THE MID STATE LATE TONIGHT AND TUESDAY BRINGING ALONG MORE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS. HAVE ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR A PRETTY GOOD-SIZED PORTION OF NORTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING. THIS IS THE SAME AREA THAT RECEIVED THE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS ON SUNDAY...AND ANY ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINFALL WILL PRODUCE INCREASED RUN OFF AND THE POSSIBILITY FOR FLASH FLOODING. EXPECT MORE THUNDERSTORMS TO ERUPT OVER WESTERN TENNESSEE TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND PUSH INTO WESTERN PARTS OF OUR FORECAST AREA BY SUNSET TOMORROW. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT, WITH A SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK...INCLUDING TORNADOES...STILL EXPECTED ON WEDNESDAY, AS A STRENGTHENING LOW PRESSURE AREA MOVES NORTHEASTWARD FROM NORTHERN ARKANSAS INTO EAST-CENTRAL INDIANA BY 0OZ, THU. SPC HAS PLACED MUCH OF THE MID STATE UNDER A MODERATE RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR WEDNESDAY. STILL LOOKS LIKE A SIGNIFICANT RAIN EVENT COMING UP OVER THE NEXT THREE DAYS, WITH RAINFALL TOTALS RANGING FROM 2 TO 3 INCHES OVER EASTERN AREAS TO BETWEEN 5 AND 7 INCHES ACROSS THE NORTHWEST. EXPECT LOCALIZED FLOODING TO BECOME LIKELY BY WEDNESDAY OVER MUCH OF THE MID STATE, AS REPEATED ROUNDS OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVE THROUGH. LONG TERM...MOSTLY DRY WEATHER IS FORECAST FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY. ANOTHER COLD FRONT, WITH THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY RAIN, IS EXPECTED BY SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. && .OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH FROM TUESDAY EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR TNZ011-032>034-065-066-078>080. FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR TNZ005>010- 022>031-056>064-075-077-093>095. && 18
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 500 AM CDT MON APR 25 2011 TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-261000- 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-DE KALB-WHITE- CUMBERLAND-BEDFORD-COFFEE-WARREN-GRUNDY-VAN BUREN-WAYNE-LAWRENCE- GILES- 500 AM CDT MON APR 25 2011 ...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH TONIGHT FOR LOCATIONS GENERALLY ALONG AND WEST OF A WAYNESBORO TO SPRINGFIELD LINE. MAIN CONCERNS WITH SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE ENTIRE MID STATE THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. MAIN CONCERNS WITH SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP WILL BE ISOLATED TORNADOES...DAMAGING WINDS...AND LARGE HAIL. A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR ALMOST ALL OF THE MID STATE ON WEDNESDAY. MAIN CONCERNS WITH SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP WILL BE ISOLATED TORNADOES...DAMAGING WINDS...AND LARGE HAIL. FROM TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR HEAVY RAINFALL. RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL RANGE FROM TWO TO FIVE INCHES...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... REPORTS FROM TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED. SPOTTER THUNDERSTORM REPORTING CRITERIA... TORNADO FUNNEL CLOUD FLOODING HAIL >= 1/2 INCH WINDS > 50 MPH (MEASURED) STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TREES OR POWER LINES DOWN 31
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
1233 AM CDT TUE APR 26 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1215 AM TSTM WND DMG BIG SANDY 36.23N 88.09W
04/26/2011 BENTON TN PUBLIC
TREES BLOWN DOWN NEAR TOWN OF BIG SANDY.
&&
JLMThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
11 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Trees were blown down onto Old Beardstown Road.
Television Station Channel Five in Nashville reported that a SKYNET Sensor in Clarksville measured a 60 MPH peak wind gust.
Trees were blown down on Lick Creek Road.
A roof was blown off a building near intersection of Madison Street and Memorial Drive in Clarksville. Specific details on what type of building it was were unknown.
Several trees were blown down near the intersection of North Hummingbird Lane and U.S. Highway 70 near the city of Dickson.
Several trees were blown down near intersection of Old Clarksville Pike and Bethel Road.
Numerous trees were blown down across the county.
Several trees were blown down near the intersection of U.S. Highway 412 and Zion Road.
Several trees were blown down on U.S. Highway 31 near Pulaski.
Several reports of trees downed across the county including one tree downed on a house. Specific details concerning any damage to the house and associated costs were unknown.
Structures damaged and trees were downed in Linden. Specific details concerning the amount and type of structures and associated damage cost were unknown.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, April 2011
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: 301531, 294328, 301536, 301540, 301546, 301552, 301574, 291679, 301580, 301589, 301601, 301604, 291677.