Areas of light rain and light snow developed across northeast portions of Middle Tennessee on February 10, before changing to all snow as a cold front moved across the region early on February 11. Portions of the northern Cumberland Plateau saw snow accumulations from one to three inches, while other areas of north central and east central Middle Tennessee received less than an inch of snow.
Every event with a place to put it; 11 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 OHX wrote it up.
Areas of light rain and light snow developed across northeast portions of Middle Tennessee on February 10, before changing to all snow as a cold front moved across the region early on February 11. Portions of the northern Cumberland Plateau saw snow accumulations from one to three inches, while other areas of north central and east central Middle Tennessee received less than an inch of snow.
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 Feb 10, 2:39 PM CST, 3 hours 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 239 PM CST FRI FEB 10 2012 .DISCUSSION...FIRST CONCERN IS WINTER WX POTENTIAL THROUGH TONIGHT. AREAS OF LIGHT PRECIPITATION WERE DEVELOPING ACROSS THE MID STATE IN PRE FRONTAL WARM ADVECTION REGIME. MOST REPORTS AT 2 PM CST INDICATED LIGHT SNOW. SOME MIXING WITH SLEET OR RAIN IS STILL POSSIBLE FOR THIS AFTERNOON WITH TEMPS IN THE UPPER 30S...BEFORE COLDER AIR BRINGS A COMPLETE CHANGE TO SNOW THIS EVENING. A COLD FRONT EXTENDED FROM CHICAGO TO THE OZARKS...AND THIS FRONT WILL SWEEP INTO THE AREA TONIGHT...PLUNGING TEMPERATURES INTO THE 20S. AN EARLY EVENING MIX OF PRECIPITATION WILL CHANGE TO ALL SNOW BEFORE 9 PM NORTH OF I 40 AND PLATEAU...AND BEFORE MIDNIGHT MOST OTHER AREAS OF THE MID STATE. A DUSTING OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE AREA...WITH THE GREATEST POTENTIAL FOR ACCUMULATION EAST OF I 65...AND ALONG AND NORTH OF I 40. A WINTER WX ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE NORTH PLATEAU FOR 1 INCH...EXCEPT 2 INCHES IN FAVORED LOCATIONS LIKE JAMESTOWN AND MONTEREY. PRECIP WILL BE TAPERING OFF BY MIDNIGHT WEST THE PLATEAU AS THE COLDEST AIR ARRIVES...LIMITING ACCUMS TO A DUSTING MOST AREAS. BY DAYBREAK SATURDAY...FLURRIES WILL BE SCATTERED ACROSS THE MID STATE...EXCEPT FOR CONTINUED UPSLOPE ENHANCED SNOW SHOWERS ON THE PLATEAU. TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE 20S WITH 15-20 MPH NW WINDS DROPPING WIND CHILLS INTO THE TEENS. SATURDAY WILL BE ONE OF THE COLDEST DAYS WE HAVE HAD THIS WINTER. TEMPERATURES WILL BARELY (AND POSSIBLY NOT) REACH THE 30S. GUSTY NW WINDS WILL MAKE IT FEEL LIKE THE TEENS. PLATEAU SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE IN THE MORNING...WITH SCATTERED FLURRIES WEST OF PLATEAU. FLURRIES AND CLOUD COVER WILL DIMINISH WEST TO EAST MIDDAY THROUGH AFTERNOON. SKIES WILL CLEAR SATURDAY NIGHT AS COLD 1040 MB HIGH PRESSURE MOVES IN. TEMPS WILL FALL INTO THE TEENS. SUNDAY WILL BE SUNNY BUT CHILLY WITH HIGHS IN THE 30S. WINDS WILL BE GENERALLY LIGHT ON SUNDAY. THE HIGH PRESSURE WILL BRING ANOTHER FRIGID NIGHT SUNDAY NIGHT WITH LOWS IN THE TEENS...PERHAPS SOME SINGLE DIGITS PLATEAU. THE NEXT MAJOR CONCERN IS A SYSTEM THAT WILL BRING THE POTENTIAL FOR MORE WINTRY WX LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY. TIMING OF THE SYSTEM...AMOUNT OF COLD AIR...AND AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION ARE ALL UNCERTAIN AT THIS TIME. FOR NOW WE WILL POST A LIKELY MIX OF SNOW AND RAIN DEVELOPING BY MONDAY NIGHT...TRANSITIONING TO RAIN ON TUESDAY. IT APPEARS THAT TN WILL BE IN THE TRANSITION ZONE FOR PRECIPITATION...WITH ALL WINTER PECIP TYPES POSSIBLE. WE WILL HAVE TO REFINE THIS FORECAST AS THE TIME APPROACHES...PERHAPS EVEN AS THE PRECIPITATION DEVELOPS. FURTHER INTO NEXT WEEK...MODELS DIFFER WITH TIMING AND STRENGTH OF VARIOUS WAVES COMING THROUGH THE SPLIT FLOW REGIME. GENERALLY...LOOKS LIKE TEMPS WILL BE NEAR NORMAL OR A LITTLE WARMER WITH ON AND OFF CHANCES FOR SHOWERS. 13 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... NASHVILLE 25 30 16 36 / 80 10 0 0 CLARKSVILLE 22 28 14 33 / 60 05 0 0 CROSSVILLE 22 26 11 33 / 90 50 10 0 COLUMBIA 26 32 16 37 / 60 05 0 0 LAWRENCEBURG 27 32 16 37 / 60 05 0 0 WAVERLY 23 30 15 35 / 60 05 0 0 && .OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO NOON CST SATURDAY FOR TNZ010-011-031>034-065-066. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 1107 AM CST FRI FEB 10 2012 TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-111000- 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- 1107 AM CST FRI FEB 10 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW IS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY WILL CONTINUE FOR SNOW ACROSS NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU THROUGH NOON ON SATURDAY. ANOTHER BRIEF SHOT OF WINTER WEATHER IS POSSIBLE MONDAY NIGHT AS AN APPROACHING SYSTEM WILL BRING A WINTRY MIX. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS AND LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE. 31
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
11 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
CoCoRaHS observers measured from 1.5 to 2.5 inches of snow accumulation across the county.
CoCoRaHS observers measured from 0.5 to 1.0 inch of snow accumulation across the county.
CoCoRahs observers measured up to 1.2 inches of snow accumulation across the county.
CoCoRahs observers measured up to 2.4 inches of snow accumulation across the county.
CoCoRahs observers measured 0.1 inches of snow accumulation 8 miles northwest of Sparta.
CoCoRaHS observers measured 0.5 inches of snow accumulation 8 miles east-southeast of McMinnville.
CoCoRaHS observers measured 0.3 inches of snow accumulation 6 miles north-northeast of Red Boiling Springs.
CoCoRaHS observers measured 0.5 inches of snow accumulation 8 miles north-northeast of Carthage.
CoCoRaHS observers measured 0.1 inches of snow accumulation 2 miles south-southeast of Lebanon.
CoCoRaHS observers measured 0.1 inches of snow accumulation 7 miles west-southwest of Westmoreland.
CoCoRaHS observers measured 0.1 inches of snow accumulation in Belle Meade.
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, February 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: 362281, 362282, 362284, 362285, 362286, 362289, 362290, 362291, 362292, 362293, 362294.