Severe thunderstorms occurred across seven Middle Tennessee counties during the late afternoon through early evening hours on Monday, May 2nd. This resulted in funnel cloud, large hail, and thunderstorm wind damage reports, along with a flash flooding event.
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.
Severe thunderstorms occurred across seven Middle Tennessee counties during the late afternoon through early evening hours on Monday, May 2nd. This resulted in funnel cloud, large hail, and thunderstorm wind damage reports, along with a flash flooding 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 May 2, 2:10 PM CST, 1 hour 46 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 310 PM CDT MON MAY 2 2011 .DISCUSSION...UPPER TROUGH IS LOCATED IN THE TX/OK PANHANDLE AREA MOVING EWD INTO THE LOWER PLAINS AND IS EXPECTED TO PASS THE MIDSTATE TUE NGT. AT THE SFC...A FRONTAL SYSTEM IS LOCATED ALONG A LINE FROM PARKERSBURG WVA TO BOWLING GREEN KY TO OXFORD MS AND IS CONTINUING A SLOW EWD MOVEMENT. MODELS CONTINUE THE EWD MOVEMENT OF THE FRONT WITH SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL OVER THE AREA THROUGH MIDDAY TUESDAY. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT OVER 10 WRN COUNTIES UNTIL MIDDAY TUE. WE EXPECT 2-3 INCHES OF RAINFALL IN THIS AREA THRU NOON TUE. ELSEWHERE...1-2 INCHES IS POSSIBLE. GIVEN THE ANTECEDENT RAINFALL OVER THE WATCH AREA...FLASH FLOODING IS LIKELY TONIGHT AND TUE MORNING. DRIER AND COOLER AIR MOVES INTO THE AREA TUE NGT AND CONTINUES THROUGH THU AS A HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM MAKES ITS WAY ACROSS THE TN VALLEY. LOW TEMPS DROP INTO THE UPPER 30S FOR TUE NGT. WITH PLENTY OF SUNSHINE... TEMPS SHOULD RECOVER NICELY INTO THE 60S BY WED AFTN AND THE LOW 70S BY THU AFTN. WE GET 2 WEAK TROUGHS SWEEPING ACROSS THE AREA THU NGT THROUGH SAT NGT GENERATING A 20-30 PCT CHANCE OF RAIN FOR THIS TIME PERIOD. TEMPS RANGE FROM THE 50S TO THE 70S IN THIS TIME PERIOD...CLOSE TO CLIMO. A MUCH STRONGER SYSTEM MOVES INTO THE AREA BY WED BRINGING A COLD FRONT ACROSS THE MIDSTATE ON WED. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... NASHVILLE 49 55 40 63 / 100 100 20 0 CLARKSVILLE 47 57 37 63 / 100 80 10 0 CROSSVILLE 55 55 36 57 / 70 100 40 0 COLUMBIA 52 57 40 64 / 90 100 20 0 LAWRENCEBURG 53 58 40 64 / 80 90 20 0 WAVERLY 49 57 38 64 / 100 90 10 0 && .OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING FOR TNZ005>007-022>026- 056-057. && JLM
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 520 AM CDT MON MAY 2 2011 TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-031030- 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- 520 AM CDT MON MAY 2 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... THERE IS A THREAT OF FLOODING FOR THE NORTHWEST COUNTIES OF THE MID STATE WHERE A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT. STREAMS AND RIVERS ACROSS NORTHWEST MIDDLE TENNESSEE WILL CONTINUE TO RUN HIGH. EXPECTED RAINFALL TODAY AND TONIGHT WILL INCREASE THE FLOOD THREAT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... ADDITIONAL RAINFALL ON TUESDAY WILL BRING THE CONTINUED THREAT FOR FLASH FLOODING OVER THE NORTHWEST COUNTIES. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON TUESDAY. STREAMS AND RIVERS IN THE NORTHWEST WILL CONTINUE TO RUN HIGH THIS WEEK AND THROUGH THE WEEKEND...WITH SOME OVER FLOOD STAGE. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS AND LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT HEAVY RAINFALL AMOUNTS OR FLOODING TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE. 13
The Nashville radar (KOHX), 150 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:54 UTC.
4 funnel cloud, 3 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Quarter sized hail was reported near the Waynesboro Fire Department. Winds were also estimated at 60 mph.
Several trees were reported downed near the intersection of Hurricane Creek Road and Pine Ridge Road.
Several trees were reported downed on Old Highway 64 by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department.
Lawrence County 911 reported several trees were downed on Jacks Branch Road near the Natchez Trace Parkway.
A funnel cloud was reported near Napier.
A funnel cloud was reported just west of Summertown on State Highway 240.
A funnel cloud was reported near the Workman Bridge in Mount Pleasant.
A funnel cloud was reported over U.S. Highway 43 near Mount Pleasant.
Flash flooding was reported on State Highway 120 near Big Rock and on State Highway 49 near Carlisle.
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: 306665, 307486, 307496, 307500, 307205, 307208, 307210, 307209, 306666, 306667, 307201.