A strong surface low pressure system moving from the Gulf Coast states into the Carolinas spread widespread rainfall across Middle Tennessee from February 18 into the early morning hours on February 19. The rain changed over to a wet snow across during the morning and afternoon hours on February 19 before ending during the evening.
Every event with a place to put it; 21 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.
A strong surface low pressure system moving from the Gulf Coast states into the Carolinas spread widespread rainfall across Middle Tennessee from February 18 into the early morning hours on February 19. The rain changed over to a wet snow across during the morning and afternoon hours on February 19 before ending during the evening. The heaviest snow fell across the northern Cumberland Plateau, where accumulations reached up to 5 inches.
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 19, 5:54 AM CST, 2 hours 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 554 AM CST SUN FEB 19 2012 .UPDATE...FOR 12Z AVIATION FORECAST && .AVIATION... HAD SOME SPRINKLES OVERNIGHT BUT EXPECT LIGHT RAIN TO BEGIN AT BNA BY 15Z WITH CEILING LOWERING INTO THE MVFR RANGE BY THEN. WET RUNWAY AT BNA THROUGH THE MORNING AND INTO THE EARLY AFTERNOON AS GROUND TEMPS WILL REMAIN WARM. HAVE RAIN ENDING AT BNA BY 20Z WITH CEILING IMPROVING TO VFR AND REMAINING THROUGH END OF THE PERIOD. ON-SET OF RAIN AT CSV AROUND 14Z MIXING WITH LIGHT SNOW BEFORE CHANGING TO ALL SNOW AROUND 17Z WITH PRECIP ENDING 21 TO 23Z. INITIALLY WET RUNWAY AT CSV MAY BECOME SNOW COVERED BRIEFLY MID- DAY INTO AFTERNOON. WITH SUN ANGLE GETTING HIGHER THIS LATE IN THE SEASON ASPHALT SHOULD HEAT UP AND MELT ANY SNOW COVERING RATHER QUICKLY UNLESS SNOW FALLS REALLY HEAVY. CEILINGS AT CSV WILL GO IFR AROUND 14Z THIS MORNING AND IMPROVE TO MVFR AROUND 20Z AND GO VFR AFTER 23Z. COULD BE A LITTLE TOO OPTIMISTIC ON CSV AS TO VFR CONDITIONS SINCE MVFR COULD LINGER INTO EARLY EVENING ALONG PLATEAU WITH FLURRIES. SYNOPTICALLY THE WARMER SHORT WAVE IN SOUTHERN BRANCH IS COMPLETELY OUT OF PHASE WITH THE COLDER SHORT WAVE IN THE NORTHERN BRANCH. THIS WILL KEEP THE COLDEST AIR NEEDED FOR SNOW MAKING FOR THE MOST PART NORTH OF THE MID STATE. STILL THINK WE WILL SEE SOME SNOW NORTHEAST MIDDLE TN AND ALONG PLATEAU BUT BY THE TIME THE COLDER AIR ALOFT GETS IN HERE...TEMPS IN THE BOUNDARY LAYER ARE WARMING (MID-DAY INTO AFTERNOON). BOYD && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 408 AM CST SUN FEB 19 2012/ SHORT TERM (SUN-TUE)... COUPLE OF H5 SHORTWAVES APPROACHING MID TN. SOUTHERN ONE IS OVR THE LWR MS VLY INCREASING THE RAIN SHIELD. SECOND ONE WITH COLD AIR ALOFT IS APPROACHING MO HEADING ESE. BOTH OF THESE FEATURE COMBINE TO INCREASE LIFT OVR MID TN...AS PCPN DEVELOPS IN THE MID- STATE. COLD SFC HIGH PRES REMAINS TO THE NORTH. EXPECT THE COLDER AIR TO HAVE A COOLING EFFECT IN THE BOUNDARY LAYER TODAY...AS NORTH WINDS WL CONTINUE TDAY. THE MOST PROFOUND AFFECT OF THE COLDER AIR WL BE NORTH AND EAST OF NASHVILLE...WHERE A WINTER STORM WATCH WAS IN EFFECT. THE WATCH WAS UPGRADED TO A WARNING NEAR THE KY BORDER AND IN THE NORTHERN PLATEAU. THE WESTERN PART OF THE WATCH WL BE DOWN- GRADED TO AN ADVISORY. SNOW ACCUMULATONS OF 1-2 INCHES IN THE ADVISORY...2-4 IN THE WARNING. PRECIPITATION WL QUICKLY DEPART THIS AFTN WEST TO EAST. ONLY EXPECT ISO SW- PLAT THROUGH MID EVENING...WITH DECREASING CLOUDS. TEMPS WL BOTTOM OUT IN THE MID-UPR 20S IN THE DRIER AIR. UPR H5 RIDGE BUILDS BACK PRES DAY UNDER MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES. HIGHS WL QUICKLY WARM BACK INTO THE LWR-MID 50S. A PAC COLD FRONT WL APPROACH THE REGION TUE AND IS EXPECTED TO WASH OUT DURING THE DAY. WL MENTION A CHC OF RW- MON NGT-TUE WITH THE WEAK SYSTEM. LONG TERM (WED-SAT)... PATTERN REMAIN MILD WED-THU. ANOTHER WEAK LOW WL MOVE INTO THE REGION WED WITH SCHC SHOWERS. A STRONGER COLD FRONT MOVES INTO THE REGION FRI WITH COLDER TEMPS NEXT WEEKEND. && .OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR TNZ008-028>030-064-065. WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR TNZ009>011-031>034-066. && 01
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 606 AM CST SUN FEB 19 2012 TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-201215- 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- 606 AM CST SUN FEB 19 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT RAIN WILL CHANGE TO SNOW IN PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MIDDLE TENNESSEE TODAY. THE AREA INCLUDES THE CITIES OF COOKEVILLE...CROSSVILLE... JAMESTOWN...LAFAYETTE...CELINA...AND BYRDSTOWN. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .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. 04
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
15 winter weather, 6 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Fentress County emergency management and law enforcement measured 4.75 inches of total snow accumulation in Jamestown, with most of the snowfall occurring between 9 AM and 3 PM. CoCoRaHS observers measured up to 4.9 inches of total snow accumulation around the county.
Pickett County law enforcement reported 2 to 3 inches of total snow accumulation in and around Byrdstown.
CoCoRaHS observers measured up to 3 inches of total snow accumulation across the county.
CoCoRaHS observers measured 1.1 inches of total snow accumulation 10 miles west-northwest of Celina.
Jackson County law enforcement reported 2 inches of total snow accumulation on average across the county.
CoCoRaHS observers measured 0.8 inches of total snow accumulation 8.7 miles north-northeast of Carthage.
CoCoRaHS observers measured 1.5 inches of total snow accumulation 5.8 miles northeast of Dowelltown.
CoCoRaHS observers measured 0.7 inches of total snow accumulation 8.5 miles east-southeast of McMinnville.
CoCoRaHS observers measured up to 0.4 inches of total snow accumulation across the county.
CoCoRaHS observers measured up to 0.8 inches of total snow accumulation across the county.
CoCoRaHS observers measured 0.5 inches of total snow accumulation 8.7 miles east of Murfreesboro.
Davidson County emergency management reported up to 2 inches of total snow accumulation in the higher elevations of the county such as Oak Hill.
CoCoRaHS observers measured up to 1 inch of total snow accumulation across the county.
CoCoRaHS observers measured up to 0.1 inches of total snow accumulation across the county.
CoCoRaHS observers measured up to 0.5 inches of total snow accumulation across the county.
CoCoRaHS observers measured up to 0.5 inches of total snow accumulation across the county.
CoCoRaHS observers measured up to 0.5 inches of total snow accumulation across the county.
CoCoRaHS observers measured up to 0.5 inches of total snow accumulation across the county.
Up to 3 inches of snow was reported around Westmoreland.
Up to 3 inches of snow was reported near the Fentress County line.
Up to 3 inches of snow was reported in eastern Overton County.
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: 362299, 362303, 362304, 362309, 362310, 362312, 362313, 362314, 362315, 362316, 362317, 362318, 362319, 362320, 362321, 362322, 362323, 362324, 368254, 368255, 368256.