Severe thunderstorms blossomed over the Southern Appalachian region due to the presence of a weak upper level impulse and a cool front building south into a moderately unstable air mass. Warm temperatures aloft limited hail production, but wind damage was widespread during the 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 MRX wrote it up.
Severe thunderstorms blossomed over the Southern Appalachian region due to the presence of a weak upper level impulse and a cool front building south into a moderately unstable air mass. Warm temperatures aloft limited hail production, but wind damage was widespread during the 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 Morristown, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 6:31 PM EST, 3 hours 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 731 PM EDT TUE JUL 31 2012 .AVIATION...STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WILL PASS SE ACROSS TRI FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT 1 TO 2 HOURS...WITH GUSTY WINDS/SMALL HAIL AND HEAVY RAINS POSSIBLE. TOOK CONDITIONS DOWN TO MVFR WITH THIS ACTIVITY. OTHERWISE...NOT ENOUGH TSRA NEAR TYS FOR NOW...SO JUST BRIEF MVFR OVERNIGHT DUE TO FOG. A DEVELOPING TSRA NNE OF CHA COULD PASS NEAR THE AIRPORT...IF NOT THEN JUST BRIEF MVFR THERE ALSO DUE TO FOG. IFR CONDITIONS ARE A GOOD BET FOR TRI BEFORE DAYBREAK...AS IN THE PREVIOUS 18Z TAF PACKAGE. POP UP STORMS POSSIBLE AGAIN WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...BUT LIKELIHOOD IS LOW NEAR OUR TAF SITES. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... CHATTANOOGA AIRPORT, TN 71 95 68 94 70 / 20 10 10 10 10 KNOXVILLE MCGHEE TYSON AIRPORT, TN 68 92 64 91 66 / 20 10 10 10 10 OAK RIDGE, TN 69 92 64 92 63 / 20 10 10 10 10 TRI CITIES AIRPORT, TN 61 89 58 88 59 / 20 10 10 10 10 && .MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...NONE. TN...NONE. VA...NONE. && TG
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 1214 PM EDT TUE JUL 31 2012 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-011600- 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- 1214 PM EDT TUE JUL 31 2012 /1114 AM CDT TUE JUL 31 2012/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE HAS PASSED INTO ALABAMA THIS MORNING TAKING WITH IT A LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. ANOTHER WEAKER DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE TOWARD NORTHEAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. BOUNDARIES LEFT FROM EARLY MORNING THUNDERSTORMS ALSO MAY BE A TRIGGER FOR STRONG STORMS TO DEVELOP BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. GUSTY WINDS...SMALL HAIL AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL PRODUCING LOCALIZED FLOODING CAN BE EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. TD
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
932 PM EDT TUE JUL 31 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0815 PM TSTM WND DMG BYBEE 36.04N 83.18W
07/31/2012 COCKE TN 911 CALL CENTER
DISPATCH REPORTED MULTIPLE TREES DOWN IN THE BYBEE AREA.
&&
KGUILLETSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 932 PM EDT TUE JUL 31 2012 TNZ071>074-086-087-010215- BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS TN-NORTH SEVIER TN-NORTHWEST MONROE TN-NW BLOUNT TN-SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS TN-SOUTHEAST MONROE TN- 932 PM EDT TUE JUL 31 2012 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR BLOUNT...SEVIER AND MONROE COUNTIES UNTIL 1015 PM EDT... AT 927 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 6 MILES EAST OF EAGLETON VILLAGE...OR 8 MILES EAST OF MARYVILLE...MOVING SOUTH AT 15 TO 20 MPH. WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...CLOVER HILL... WALLAND...WEARS VALLEY...TOWNSEND...HAPPY VALLEY...CADES COVE AND TALASSEE. IN ADDITION TO SMALL HAIL AND 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
934 PM EDT TUE JUL 31 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0835 PM TSTM WND DMG NEWPORT 35.96N 83.19W
07/31/2012 COCKE TN 911 CALL CENTER
DISPATCH REPORTED MULTIPLE TREES DOWN IN THE NEWPORT
AREA.
&&
KGUILLETPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
945 PM EDT TUE JUL 31 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0910 PM TSTM WND DMG SEYMOUR 35.87N 83.77W
07/31/2012 SEVIER TN 911 CALL CENTER
DISPATCH REPORTED A TREE DOWN ON THE ROADWAY.
&&
KGUILLETPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
947 PM EDT TUE JUL 31 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0900 PM TSTM WND DMG 4 NE PIGEON FORGE 35.83N 83.51W
07/31/2012 SEVIER TN 911 CALL CENTER
DISPATCH REPORTED A TREE DOWN ON DIXON BRANCH ROAD.
&&
KGUILLETPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
955 PM EDT TUE JUL 31 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0735 PM TSTM WND DMG 2 SW BEAN STATION 36.32N 83.31W
07/31/2012 GRAINGER TN 911 CALL CENTER
DISPATCH REPORTED A COUPLE TREES DOWN ON HIGHWAY 375.
&&
KGUILLETThe Knoxville radar (KMRX), 133 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:59 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Two trees were reported down. One tree was downed in Murphy and the other fell in the vicinity of Texana.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, July 2012
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: 399344.