Hail, Lee
- When
- March 23, 2:25 PM EST
- Where
- Lee County, 0.69 mi N of Pennington Gap
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- Public
- Coordinates
- 36.760, -83.030
Quarter size hail was reported.
Hail in Virginia, March 23, 2011
Severe convection developed ahead of a cold front during the late afternoon through late evening hours in an atmosphere characterized by high shear with a 40 to 50 knot low level jet and a 120 knot upper level jet but only weak to moderate instability.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS MRX wrote it up.
Severe convection developed ahead of a cold front during the late afternoon through late evening hours in an atmosphere characterized by high shear with a 40 to 50 knot low level jet and a 120 knot upper level jet but only weak to moderate instability.
What forecasters said that day
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 Mar 23, 1:40 PM EST, 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 23, 1:40 PM EST, 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 240 PM EDT WED MAR 23 2011 .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT AND THURSDAY)...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE QUICKLY DEVELOPING OVER NORTHERN MIDDLE TN AND THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU. COOLING MIDLEVEL TEMPS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON WILL STEEPEN LAPSE RATES AND INCREASE THE THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL. DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE AS WELL AS WINDS ALOFT MAY BE FORCED TO THE SURFACE WITH STRONG DOWNDRAFTS. SURFACE WINDS FROM THE SW SHOULD MEAN A LESSER THREAT OF TORNADOES IN OUR AREA. CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY SHOULD CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF THE EVENING...TAPERING OFF BEFORE MIDNIGHT AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES INTO THE AREA AND THE MIDLEVEL TROUGH AXIS MOVES TO THE EAST. GOOD COLD ADVECTION AND LOW LEVEL MOISTURE BEHIND THE FRONT SHOULD MEAN HIGH TEMPS ONLY IN THE 50S TOMORROW UNDER MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES. .LONG TERM (THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY)...COLD AIR WILL BE IN PLACE THURSDAY NIGHT AND OVERNIGHT LOWS COULD DIP BELOW FREEZING OVER NORTHERN LOCATIONS...AND A FREEZE WARNING MAY BE NEEDED. OTHERWISE...WILL BE IN A RATHER UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN DURING THE EXTENDED. HIGH PRESSURE THURSDAY NIGHT WILL GIVE WAY TO AN APPROACHING SHORT WAVE. COULD SEE INITIAL SHOWERS PUSH INTO THE AREA LATE FRIDAY INTO FRIDAY NIGHT. A SECOND...STRONGER WAVE THEN A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH FOR THE WEEKEND. HAVE CONTINUED WITH LIKELY POPS SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT AND CHANCE POPS FOR PART OF SUNDAY. MODEL CONSISTENCY ON DETAILS DIMINISHES LATE IN THE PERIOD...BUT SHOULD HAVE A SERIES OF WEAK WAVES MOVING IN FOR MONDAY AND TUESDAY FOR CONTINUED 20 TO 30 POPS. DRY ON WEDNESDAY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... CHATTANOOGA AIRPORT, TN 47 58 36 63 45 / 60 0 0 10 30 KNOXVILLE AIRPORT, TN 48 54 35 61 43 / 70 10 0 10 30 OAK RIDGE, TN 47 53 36 60 44 / 70 10 0 10 30 TRI CITIES AIRPORT, TN 47 51 30 57 39 / 80 10 0 20 30 && .MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...NONE. TN...NONE. VA...NONE. && DGS/MJB
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 23, 4:25 AM EST, 10 hours before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 525 AM EDT WED MAR 23 2011 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-240930- 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- 525 AM EDT WED MAR 23 2011 /425 AM CDT WED MAR 23 2011/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING A COLD FRONT ACROSS THE TENNESSEE RIVER VALLEY TODAY...TRIGGERING STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AHEAD OF IT THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE MAIN CONCERNS WITH THESE STORMS WILL THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL...BUT ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL AFFECT THE REGION ON SATURDAY NIGHT...BRINGING ANOTHER CHANCE FOR STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AND POSSIBLY AGAIN ON SATURDAY NIGHT.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Mar 23, 1:46 PM EST, 39 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 246 PM EDT WED MAR 23 2011 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-240200- 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- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MURPHY...HAYESVILLE...ONEIDA... LA FOLLETTE...TAZEWELL...SNEEDVILLE...ROGERSVILLE...KINGSPORT... BRISTOL...MOUNTAIN CITY...WARTBURG...CLINTON...OAK RIDGE... MAYNARDVILLE...RUTLEDGE...MORRISTOWN...NEWPORT...COSBY... GREENEVILLE...CEDAR CREEK...JOHNSON CITY...ERWIN...ELIZABETHTON... ROAN MOUNTAIN...KINGSTON...LENOIR CITY...KNOXVILLE...DANDRIDGE... MARYVILLE...CADES COVE...SEVIERVILLE...GATLINBURG...DUNLAP... PIKEVILLE...DAYTON...DECATUR...ATHENS...MADISONVILLE... COKER CREEK...JASPER...CHATTANOOGA...CLEVELAND...BENTON... DUCKTOWN...JONESVILLE...WISE...NORTON...GATE CITY...LEBANON... ABINGDON 246 PM EDT WED MAR 23 2011 /146 PM CDT WED MAR 23 2011/ ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE TENNESSEE RIVER VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. A LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AHEAD OF THIS COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE SOME STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE MAIN THREATS EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS WILL BE THE POSSIBILITY OF STRONG...DAMAGING WINDS AND WITH COLD AIR ALOFT...LARGE HAIL...TO THE SIZE OF GOLF BALL OR BASEBALL. A FEW ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. PLEASE STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET...FOR LATER WATCHES AND WARNINGS ON THIS DEVELOPING SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION.
The radar
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 74 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:25 UTC.
Event by event
2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Russell
- When
- March 23, 7:15 PM EST
- Where
- Russell County, 0.88 mi SW of Rosedale
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Reported by
- Law Enforcement
- Coordinates
- 36.960, -81.930
Golfball size hail was reported.
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado and Hail in Tennessee, March 23 to 24, 2011
- Tornado and Hail in Pennsylvania, March 23, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, March 23, 2011
- Tornadoes and Hail in Tennessee, March 23, 2011
- Wildfire in South Carolina, March 23 to 25, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Winds in West Virginia, March 23, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, March 23, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, March 23, 2011
- Heavy Snow in New York, March 23, 2011
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, March 23 to 26, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Virginia, March 23 to 24, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, March 23, 2011
More
Every storm in Virginia in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, March 2011
Sources
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: 282726, 282727.