Very unstable atmosphere across Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee resulted in isolated severe thunderstorm development in this area during the middle evening period. The dry low level air mass strengthened downdrafts in the storms which downed a few trees.
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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.
Very unstable atmosphere across Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee resulted in isolated severe thunderstorm development in this area during the middle evening period. The dry low level air mass strengthened downdrafts in the storms which downed a few trees.
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 2, 7:54 PM EST, 1 minute earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 854 PM EDT FRI SEP 2 2011 .DISCUSSION...MOIST EAST TO NORTHEAST LOW LEVEL FLOW IS FEEDING A WEAK IMPULSE RIDING INTO THE HIGHER TERRAIN ACROSS NORTHEAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND A THUNDERSTORM HAVE DEVELOPED IN THE INSTABILITY PRESENT ACROSS SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA. BELIEVE THESE WILL BE AROUND FOR A WHILE SO ADDED SOME POPS FOR THIS ACTION TONIGHT. ALSO FEEL LIKE MIN TEMPS NEED A SLIGHT UPWARD NUDGE SO ADDED A DEGREE AS SURFACE GRADIENT MAY KEEP SOME FLOW GOING FOR A FEW HOURS HOLDING TEMPS UP A BIT. && .MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...NONE. TN...NONE. VA...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 245 PM EDT FRI SEP 2 2011 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-031845- 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- 245 PM EDT FRI SEP 2 2011 /145 PM CDT FRI SEP 2 2011/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY REMNANTS OF A TROPICAL STORM LEE CURRENTLY IN THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO MAY MOVE NORTHEAST TOWARD THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AND SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS LATE SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY AND COLLIDE WITH A FRONTAL BOUNDARY OVER THE AREA. DEPENDING OF THE EXACT TRACK OF THIS SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED MOISTURE...THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL ARE POSSIBLE...WHICH COULD PRODUCE FLASH FLOODING. THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF UNCERTAINTY OF THE EXACT PATH OF THIS SYSTEM...SO PLEASE STAY TUNED TO FURTHER UPDATES TO THE FORECAST. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED...BUT WILL MONITOR THE SYSTEM FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 646 PM EDT FRI SEP 2 2011 TNZ017-018-046-047-VAZ008-030015- JOHNSON TN-NORTHWEST CARTER TN-SOUTHEAST CARTER TN-SULLIVAN TN-WASHINGTON VA- 646 PM EDT FRI SEP 2 2011 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE CITY OF BRISTOL VA...WASHINGTON COUNTY VA...AND JOHNSON AND SULLIVAN COUNTIES UNTIL 815 PM EDT... AT 642 PM EDT/542 PM CDT/...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING ISOLATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EAST OF MARION VA... MOVING SOUTHWEST AT 25 MPH. THESE STORMS MAY REACH EXTREME NORTHEAST TENNESSEE AND WASHINGTON COUNTY VIRGINIA. SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS INCLUDE...ABINGDON...MOUNTAIN CITY...BRISTOL VA...BRISTOL TN...ELIZABETHTON...HAMPTON...GLADE SPRING...KONNAROCK...EMORY-MEADOW VIEW...LINDELL...DAMASCUS... HILANDER PARK...HOLSTON...LAUREL BLOOMERY...HARR...SHADY VALLEY... BENHAMS...TRADE...SOUTH HOLSTON DAM AND NEVA. IN ADDITION TO SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THESE STORMS. 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. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS...IN EXCESS OF ONE INCH PER HOUR...MAY OCCUR WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR PONDING OF WATER ON ROADWAYS...AND POSSIBLE MINOR FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS. DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH. TURN AROUND! DON'T DROWN! TG
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 142 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:53 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A few trees were reported down in Laurel Bloomery.
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, September 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: 339372.