A cold front tracked through the region on the 9th triggering scattered thunderstorms over the area. Several of the storms produced 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 cold front tracked through the region on the 9th triggering scattered thunderstorms over the area. Several of the storms produced 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 9, 9:15 AM CST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 1115 AM EDT THU AUG 9 2012 .DISCUSSION... CURRENT SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS A WEAK QUASI-STATIONARY FRONTAL BOUNDARY OVER THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY...WITH A VERY MOIST AIR MASS LINGERING OVER THE FORECAST AREA WITH DEWPOINTS AROUND 70. THIS MOIST AIR MASS SHOULD AGAIN RESULT IN A MODERATELY UNSTABLE AIR MASS OVER THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON...WITH SCATTERED CONVECTION OVER MIDDLE TN EXPECTED TO MOVE EASTWARD AHEAD OF AN UPPER-LEVEL SHORT WAVE TROUGH. MODEL SOUNDINGS REVEAL THAT THE LOCAL AIR MASS IS CONDUCIVE FOR THE GENERATION OF STRONG DAMAGING WINDS...WITH A DEEP MID-LEVEL DRY LAYER OBSERVED ALONG WITH AN INVERTED-V PROFILE IN THE BOUNDARY LAYER. OVERALL...CURRENT FORECAST APPEARS TO BE ON TRACK FOR THE MOST PART...BUT WILL UPDATE THIS MORNING TO REMOVE MORNING PRECIP WORDING AND TO TWEAK TEMPS A LITTLE ACCORDING TO THE LATEST TRENDS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... CHATTANOOGA AIRPORT, TN 89 70 85 65 86 / 50 40 70 30 10 KNOXVILLE AIRPORT, TN 89 69 85 64 84 / 50 50 70 30 10 OAK RIDGE, TN 89 69 84 64 84 / 40 50 70 30 10 TRI CITIES AIRPORT, TN 88 65 84 60 81 / 50 50 70 40 20 && .MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...NONE. TN...NONE. VA...NONE. && DMG
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 412 AM EDT THU AUG 9 2012 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-100800- 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- 412 AM EDT THU AUG 9 2012 /312 AM CDT THU AUG 9 2012/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... SCATTERED STRONG TO LOCALLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. THE MAIN IMPACTS FROM THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS...ONE INCH DIAMETER HAIL...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY TO DEVELOP ON FRIDAY AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT. THE STORMS MAY PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS OF 60 MPH OR GREATER...AND HAIL UP TO ONE INCH IN DIAMETER. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS COULD CAUSE MINOR FLOODING OF LOW LYING OR FLOOD PRONE AREAS. THE STRONGEST STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. MUCH DRIER WEATHER RETURNS BY SATURDAY BEHIND THE PASSING COLD FRONT. THUS...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED FOR THE WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TODAY AND FRIDAY. TG
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 1110 AM EDT THU AUG 9 2012 TNZ081-098-099-091615- HAMILTON TN-MARION TN-SEQUATCHIE TN- 1010 AM CDT THU AUG 9 2012 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR MARION...EXTREME SOUTHERN HAMILTON AND SEQUATCHIE COUNTIES UNTIL 1115 AM CDT/1215 PM EDT/... AT 1006 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 12 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MCMINNVILLE TO 8 MILES WEST OF BRIDGEPORT...AND MOVING EAST AT 15 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...JASPER... MONTEAGLE...SOUTH PITTSBURG...WHITWELL...ORME...HALETOWN (GUILD)... MARTIN SPRINGS...GRIFFITH CREEK...POWELLS CROSSROADS 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.
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 59 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:43 UTC.
9 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Law enforcement personnel reported a few tees downed by thunderstorm wind in Whitwell.
Law enforcement personnel reported a couple of trees downed by thunderstorm wind 5 miles north of Reliance.
Law enforcement personnel reported a couple of trees downed by thunderstorm wind around Etowah.
Law enforcement personnel reported a couple of trees downed by thunderstorm wind 2 miles south of Walland.
Law enforcement personnel reported a couple of trees downed by thunderstorm wind in West Knoxville.
Law enforcement personnel reported a few trees downed by thunderstorm wind across the western portions of Knox County.
Law enforcement personnel reported 1 tree downed by thunderstorm wind on Howell River Road in southwest Rutledge.
Law enforcement personnel reported a few trees downed by thunderstorm wind in Harrogate.
Law enforcement personnel reported a few trees downed by thunderstorm wind in Surgoinsville.
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: 402296, 402297, 402298, 402299, 402300, 402301, 410292, 402304, 402307.