A front tracked through the region producing isolated thunderstorms during the overnight hours on the 16-17th. A few of the storms produced a damaging thunderstorm wind.
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.
A front tracked through the region producing isolated thunderstorms during the overnight hours on the 16-17th. A few of the storms produced a damaging thunderstorm wind.
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 Aug 16, 10:17 PM CST, 1 hour 28 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 1217 AM EDT FRI AUG 17 2012 .DISCUSSION...QUICK UPDATE TO INCREASE CHANCES OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE PLATEAU AND SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE FOR THE REST OF TONIGHT. A LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER MIDDLE TENNESSEE IS DROPPING SOUTHEAST. AIRMASS QUICKLY STABILIZES OVER THE FORECAST AREA...BUT THE PLATEAU AND SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE WILL LIKELY SEE THE REMAINS BY 2 AM. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... CHATTANOOGA AIRPORT, TN 67 85 65 83 62 / 50 30 30 30 20 KNOXVILLE MCGHEE TYSON AIRPORT, TN 65 83 63 82 60 / 50 30 30 30 20 OAK RIDGE, TN 64 83 62 81 60 / 50 20 20 30 10 TRI CITIES AIRPORT, TN 61 80 59 79 55 / 50 30 20 30 20 && .MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...NONE. TN...NONE. VA...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 1051 PM EDT THU AUG 16 2012 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-180300- 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- 1051 PM EDT THU AUG 16 2012 /951 PM CDT THU AUG 16 2012/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE SOUTHEAST OVERNIGHT FROM MIDDLE TENNESSEE AND CENTRAL KENTUCKY. IF THE STORMS DO NOT WEAKEN BEFORE REACHING EASTERN PARTS OF THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU...THEN DAMAGING WINDS UP TO 60 MPH AND HAIL UP TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER COULD STILL OCCUR WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... ANOTHER COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE TENNESSEE VALLEY REGION FRIDAY AND FRIDAY EVENING. STRONG TO A FEW SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE...WITH THE MAIN THREATS BEING STRONG DAMAGING WINDS...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL... AND HAIL UP TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED BEFORE DAYBREAK FRIDAY...MAINLY OVER THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU WESTWARD. SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED ON FRIDAY OVER MUCH OF EAST TENNESSEE...SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA AND WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. TG
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 106 AM EDT FRI AUG 17 2012 TNZ081>084-098>100-170600- BLEDSOE TN-BRADLEY TN-HAMILTON TN-MARION TN-MEIGS TN-RHEA TN-SEQUATCHIE TN- 1206 AM CDT FRI AUG 17 2012 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR MEIGS...MARION...HAMILTON... BRADLEY...BLEDSOE...SEQUATCHIE AND RHEA COUNTIES UNTIL 100 AM CDT/200 AM EDT/... AT 1202 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 6 MILES SOUTH OF SPARTA TO 11 MILES WEST OF GRUETLI-LAAGER TO 11 MILES NORTHWEST OF SEWANEE TO 37 MILES WEST OF SEWANEE...AND MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 45 MPH. HAIL UP TO ONE-HALF INCH IN DIAMETER AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS INCLUDE...PIKEVILLE... DUNLAP...JASPER...DAYTON...CHATTANOOGA...CLEVELAND...MONTEAGLE... WHITWELL...SOUTH PITTSBURG...SIGNAL MOUNTAIN...SODDY-DAISY...LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN...HARRISON...MOUNT CREST...CAGLE...OLD CUMBERLAND...GRIFFITH CREEK...PALIO...ORME AND CARTWRIGHT. 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. DH
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 81 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:45 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Law enforcement personnel reported numerous trees downed by thunderstorm wind countywide.
Law enforcement personnel reported a few trees downed by thunderstorm wind 3 miles east of Soddy Daisy.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, August 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: 402355, 402358.