Repeat convection became severe along a warm front extending across Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee during the late evening hours. Convection became organized along the boundary transitioning into an mesoscale convective system which moved across Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee.
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.
Repeat convection became severe along a warm front extending across Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee during the late evening hours. Convection became organized along the boundary transitioning into an mesoscale convective system which moved across Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee.
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 May 10, 7:11 PM EST, 2 hours 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 811 PM EDT TUE MAY 10 2011 .DISCUSSION...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED MAINLY NORTH AND NORTHEAST OF THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING EAST OF A WEAK WARM FRONTAL BOUNDARY. THE AIRMASS IS STILL VERY UNSTABLE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA BUT NAM12 SHOWS CAP MAY BE STRENGTHENING THIS EVENING. UPDATED FORECAST BUT DID NOT CHANGE POPS. WILL LIKELY NEED ANOTHER UPDATE TO LOWER POPS NE LATER THIS EVENING. TEMPERATURES STILL VERY WARM SOUTHWEST. HIGH CLOUD SHIELD FROM MCS ACTIVITY TO THE NORTH AND NORTHEAST HAS LOWERED TEMPERATURES OVER NE TN AND SW VA. UPDATE ALREADY SENT. && .AVIATION...CURRENT SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS NW TO SE ORIENTED QUASI- STATIONARY FRONT OVER SOUTHWEST VA AND NORTHEAST TN...WITH A SUMMER-LIKE AIR MASS OVER AREA. HIGH DEWPOINTS IN THE LOWER TO MID 60S OVER MOST OF EAST TN. UNSTABLE AIR MASS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE FORECAST AREA...HOWEVER CONVECTION MOSTLY ALONG BOUNDARY NEAR TRI THIS EVENING. STILL HAVE VCTS FOR KTRI NEXT FEW HOURS. MVFR VISIBILITIES DUE TO FOG DEVELOPING LATE TONIGHT TOWARDS SUNRISE AT ALL TAF SITES. && .MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...NONE. TN...NONE. VA...NONE. && TD
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 1045 AM EDT TUE MAY 10 2011 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-111000- 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- 1045 AM EDT (945 AM CDT) TUE MAY 10 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST TENNESSEE...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A STATIONARY FRONTAL BOUNDARY WAS LOCATED OVER SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND NORTHEAST TENNESSEE TODAY...WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME OF THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY BECOME SEVERE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WITH DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH AND VERY LARGE HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF A GOLF BALL (OR EVEN LARGER). IN ADDITION...AN ISOLATED TORNADO OR TWO WILL BE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THUNDERSTORMS REMAIN IN THE FORECAST EACH DAY...ESPECIALLY IN THE AFTERNOONS AND EVENINGS. THE GREATEST COVERAGE SHOULD BE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT. GIVEN THE TIME OF THE YEAR...A FEW STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS COULD OCCUR WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. DMG
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 920 PM EDT TUE MAY 10 2011 VAZ002-006-110145- RUSSELL VA-WISE VA- 920 PM EDT TUE MAY 10 2011 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CITY OF NORTON...WISE AND RUSSELL COUNTIES UNTIL 945 PM EDT... AT 916 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM GRUNDY TO 12 MILES NORTHWEST OF WHITESBURG...AND MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 50 MPH. THESE STORMS WILL BEGIN TO AFFECT PORTIONS OF WISE AND RUSSELL COUNTIES BETWEEN 930 PM AND 945 PM. THESE STORMS HAVE A HISTORY OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS IN EASTERN KENTUCKY. HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE ALSO EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...TAKE SHELTER IN A STURDY BUILDING. DGS
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
1030 PM EDT TUE MAY 10 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1000 PM TSTM WND DMG LEBANON 36.90N 82.08W
05/10/2011 RUSSELL VA LAW ENFORCEMENT
TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN COUNTY WIDE.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
1037 PM EDT TUE MAY 10 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1010 PM TSTM WND DMG WISE 36.98N 82.58W
05/10/2011 WISE VA LAW ENFORCEMENT
SEVERAL TREES DOWN.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
1040 PM EDT TUE MAY 10 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1025 PM TSTM WND DMG BIG STONE GAP 36.86N 82.78W
05/10/2011 WISE VA LAW ENFORCEMENT
SEVERAL TREES DOWN.
&&The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 107 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:38 UTC.
9 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Trees and power lines were reported down across the county.
Several trees were reported down.
Numerous trees and power lines were reported down.
One tree was reported down.
One tree was reported down.
One tree was reported down.
One tree was reported down on Highway 66.
One tree was reported down along Highway 11W.
A few trees were reported down.
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, May 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: 298768, 298769, 298770, 298772, 298781, 298782, 298783, 298785, 298787.