Strong gradient winds measured up to 48 mph in Lawrenceburg affected the Mid State during the afternoon hours on December 20. One tree was reported uprooted in Cookeville.
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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 OHX wrote it up.
Strong gradient winds measured up to 48 mph in Lawrenceburg affected the Mid State during the afternoon hours on December 20. One tree was reported uprooted in Cookeville.
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 Nashville, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 20, 2:41 PM CST, 39 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 241 PM CST THU DEC 20 2012 .DISCUSSION...MAIN CONCERNS THIS FORECAST PERIOD INCLUDE GUSTY WINDS AND SNOW SHOWER POTENTIAL IN THE SHORT TERM. THE MAIN LONGER TERM CONCERN IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A MIDWEEK WINTER STORM. AT MID AFTERNOON....A 983 MB LOW WAS NEAR CHICAGO WITH A COLD FRONT EXTENDING ACROSS IN...KY AND EAST OF I 65 IN MID TN. THE LARGE AREA OF RAIN THAT HAD CROSSED MID TN THIS MORNING WAS LOCATED EAST OF THE PLATEAU. SKIES REMAINED CLOUDY AND GUSTY WINDS CONTINUED. PEAK GUSTS OF 40-50 MPH HAVE CAUSED A FEW TREE LIMBS AND POWER LINES TO BE DOWNED. TONIGHT...THE LOW PRESSURE CENTER WILL MOVE ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES AS A GOOD PUSH OF COLD AIR COMES DOWN INTO THE TN VALLEY REGION. A TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL KEEP GUSTY CONDITIONS OVER MID TN THIS EVENING. THE GUSTS ARE EXPECTED TO DIMINISH A BIT LATER TONIGHT...MOSTLY UNDER 30 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT. STRONG COLD ADVECTION ALONG WITH PASSAGE OF THE MID LEVEL TROUGH WILL CAUSE A FEW FLURRIES TO DEVELOP OVER MID TN THIS EVENING...WITH MORE PERSISTENT SNOW SHOWERS FOR THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU. FAVORED LOCATIONS LIKE JAMESTOWN AND MONTEREY MAY PICK UP A GOOD DUSTING (LESS THAN ONE HALF INCH) OF SNOW TONIGHT. ON FRIDAY...WINDS MAY PICK UP TO ADVISORY LEVELS AGAIN THROUGH MIDDAY...WITH SOME GUSTS OVER 35 MPH. WE WILL LET THE NIGHT SHIFT DECIDE ON ANY NEW HEADLINES. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE BUILDING IN...SO WINDS WILL DIMINISH THROUGH THE AFTERNOON UNDER SUNNY SKIES. HIGHS WILL BE IN THE LOW TO MID 40S...EXCEPT ONLY 30S FOR PARTS OF THE PLATEAU. FRIDAY NIGHT...HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE MOVING OVER MID TN. CLEAR SKIES AND LIGHT WINDS WILL ALLOW TEMPS TO PLUMMET INTO THE LOWER 20S...EXCEPT SOME TEENS IN LOW LYING AREAS. DRY WX CONTINUES THROUGH SATURDAY WITH HIGHS CLIMBING NEAR CLIMATOLOGICAL NORMAL. FOR THE REST OF THE WEEKEND...THERE WILL BE A GRADUAL INCREASE IN CLOUDS WITH JUST A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS SUNDAY PM AS THE NEXT WX SYSTEM APPROACHES. IN THE EXTENDED FORECAST...A BUSY AND COMPLEX PATTERN COULD BRING A WINTER STORM TO A LARGE AREA INCLUDING THE TN VALLEY. AT THIS TIME...WE DO NOT EXPECT A WHITE CHRISTMAS...MID TN WILL BE UNDER A LOT OF CLOUDS WITH SOME RAIN SHOWERS IN THE REGION. THE MAIN ACTION IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP CHRISTMAS NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY. MODELS ARE IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT THAT SOME MODERATE TO STRONG WAVES WILL COME TOGETHER TO FORM A SURFACE LOW THAT WILL TRACK FROM THE GULF COAST UP OVER EAST TN...EVENTUALLY DEVELOPING A NOREASTER. IF THE SOLUTIONS INDICATED BY THE GFS AND ECMWF PAN OUT... MID TN WOULD BE ON THE COLD SIDE...AND SET TO RECEIVE SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. KEEP IN MIND THIS IS A WEEK AHEAD. THE MODELS WILL PROBABLY CHANGE SOLUTIONS SUBSTANTIALLY OVER THE COMING DAYS...ESPECIALLY IN SUCH A COMPLEX SETUP. FOR NOW...WE WILL BLEND PREVIOUS MODEL SOLUTIONS AND GO WITH RAIN AT THE ONSET...THEN A TRANSITION TO SNOW WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT. STAY TUNED. 13 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... NASHVILLE 28 43 24 47 / 10 05 0 0 CLARKSVILLE 25 43 22 45 / 10 05 0 0 CROSSVILLE 24 36 20 41 / 60 10 0 0 COLUMBIA 27 44 22 49 / 10 05 0 0 LAWRENCEBURG 26 45 22 50 / 05 0 0 0 WAVERLY 26 44 22 48 / 10 05 0 0 && .OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR TNZ005>011-022>034- 056>066-075-077>080-093>095. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 502 AM CST THU DEC 20 2012 TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-211115- STEWART-MONTGOMERY-ROBERTSON-SUMNER-MACON-CLAY-PICKETT-BENTON- HOUSTON-HUMPHREYS-DICKSON-CHEATHAM-DAVIDSON-WILSON-TROUSDALE- SMITH-JACKSON-PUTNAM-OVERTON-FENTRESS-PERRY-HICKMAN-LEWIS- WILLIAMSON-MAURY-MARSHALL-RUTHERFORD-CANNON-DE KALB-WHITE- CUMBERLAND-BEDFORD-COFFEE-WARREN-GRUNDY-VAN BUREN-WAYNE-LAWRENCE- GILES- 502 AM CST THU DEC 20 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE UNTIL MIDNIGHT. A STRONG COLD FRONT SWEEPING ACROSS THE MID STATE WILL PRODUCE WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS AND LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT HIGH WINDS...ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT CAUSE DAMAGE...TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE. ROSE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was reportedly uprooted in Cookeville.
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, December 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: 424286.