A lingering boundary across the area triggered isolated thunderstorms during the afternoon hours as instability increased. A few of the storms produced damaging thunderstorm wind and hail as large as quarters.
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.
A lingering boundary across the area triggered isolated thunderstorms during the afternoon hours as instability increased. A few of the storms produced damaging thunderstorm wind and hail as large as quarters.
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 Aug 18, 8:26 PM EST, 1 hour 9 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 926 PM EDT THU AUG 18 2011 .DISCUSSION...UPDATED TO INCLUDE PATCHY FOG FOR TONIGHT AND CHANGE PRECIPITATION CHANCE TO AREAL COVERAGE. A MOIST AND MODERATELY UNSTABLE AIRMASS (CAPES 1500-2000 J/KG) CONTINUES TO PRODUCE SCATTERED CONVECTION. PLENTY OF LEFT OVER BOUNDARIES AND LOCAL TERRAIN WILL HELP KEEP CHANCES OF THUNDERSTORMS GOING OVERNIGHT. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN CONCERN. DUE TO THE RECENT RAINS...PATCHY FOG ANTICIPATED...SOME MAY BECOME LOCALLY DENSE. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... CHATTANOOGA AIRPORT, TN 69 93 71 94 72 / 20 10 20 20 20 KNOXVILLE MCGHEE TYSON AIRPORT, TN 67 92 69 92 69 / 20 10 30 20 20 OAK RIDGE, TN 67 92 68 91 68 / 20 20 30 20 20 TRI CITIES AIRPORT, TN 60 88 61 89 62 / 40 20 30 20 20 && .MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...NONE. TN...NONE. VA...NONE. && DH
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 500 AM EDT THU AUG 18 2011 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-191000- 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- 500 AM EDT THU AUG 18 2011 /400 AM CDT THU AUG 18 2011/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 437 PM EDT THU AUG 18 2011 VAZ002-005-006-182100- RUSSELL VA-SCOTT VA-WISE VA- 437 PM EDT THU AUG 18 2011 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR WISE...SCOTT AND RUSSELL COUNTIES UNTIL 500 PM EDT... AT 430 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES EAST OF WISE...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 5 MPH. WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...ST. PAUL AND CASTLEWOOD. IN ADDITION TO GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT 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.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
600 PM EDT THU AUG 18 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0456 PM TSTM WND DMG COEBURN 36.95N 82.47W
08/18/2011 WISE VA LAW ENFORCEMENT
DISPATCH REPORTED ONE INCH HAIL IN COEBURN.
&&
KGUILLETSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 730 PM EDT THU AUG 18 2011 TNZ084-085-100-190000- BRADLEY TN-MCMINN TN-MEIGS TN- 730 PM EDT THU AUG 18 2011 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR MEIGS...MCMINN AND BRADLEY COUNTIES UNTIL 800 PM EDT... AT 723 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF CHARLESTON...OR 11 MILES NORTH OF CLEVELAND...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 10 MPH. WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...CHARLESTON... RICEVILLE...CALHOUN AND TASSO.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 952 PM EDT THU AUG 18 2011 TNZ071-072-190230- BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS TN-NW BLOUNT TN- 952 PM EDT THU AUG 18 2011 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR BLOUNT COUNTY UNTIL 1030 PM EDT... AT 949 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR ALCOA...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH. WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...ALCOA...MARYVILLE... EAGLETON VILLAGE...CLOVER HILL...WILDWOOD AND HAPPY VALLEY.
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 66 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:34 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Law enforcement personnel reported a few trees downed by thunderstorm wind near Alcoa.
Law enforcement personnel reported thunderstorms produced quarter-size hail at Alcoa.
Law enforcement personnel reported a few trees downed by thunderstorm wind near the University of Tennessee Medical Center.
Law enforcement personnel reported a telephone pole downed by thunderstorm wind across Wye Drive near Sevierville. Several trees were also downed by thunderstorm wind across Walt Price Road near Sevierville.
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, August 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: 339680, 339683, 339681, 339682.