A boundary across the area triggered thunderstorms over east Tennessee toward the end of the month. The boundary aided in the development of an EF-0 tornado as well as golfball-size hail and several reports of wind damage.
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 boundary across the area triggered thunderstorms over east Tennessee toward the end of the month. The boundary aided in the development of an EF-0 tornado as well as golfball-size hail and several reports of wind damage.
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 Feb 29, 3:32 PM EST, 2 hours 13 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 332 PM EST WED FEB 29 2012 .SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY)...AWAITING THE ARRIVAL OF STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS THIS AFTERNOON...AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING COLD FRONT. COLD FRONT AT 19Z APPEARED TO BE JUST ENTERING NW CORNER OF TN NORTH ACROSS EXTREME WRN KY. LINE OF SEVERE STORMS AHEAD OF THE FRONT HAS MOVED INTO ERN KY SW TO NRN MIDDLE TN...WITH SOME NEWER DEVELOPMENT SW INTO AREAS BETWEEN I-40 AND I-65. SEEING STRONG SHEAR AND HELICITY JUST TO OUR WEST WHICH IS PROGGED TO REACH OUR AREA BY LATE AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING HOURS. MAX TEMPS HAVE BEEN HELD BACK SOME BY CLOUDS AND SPOTTY CONVECTION AHEAD OF THE LINE...SO INSTABILITY HAS BEEN LIMITED THUS FAR. KEEPING POPS HIGH FOR MUCH OF TONIGHT...DUE TO ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE LINE OF SEVERE STORMS PLUS ANY LINGERING CONVECTION ALONG THE ACTUAL FRONTAL BOUNDARY. LATER 3 PERIODS GENERALLY WERE ON TRACK IN PREVIOUS FORECAST GRIDS WITH JUST SOME VERY MINOR TWEAKS. BOTH THURSDAY AND EARLY THURSDAY NIGHT LOOK TO BE DRY...BEFORE NEXT SYSTEM SPREADS CLOUDS AND SHOWERS NE LATE THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. PUSHED POPS UP TO LIKELY BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON...AS ONLY NAM WAS SLUGGISH IN SPREADING RAINS NE. ALL OTHER MODELS OFFERED TIMING VERY SIMILAR TO WETTER GFS MODEL...INCLUDING ECMWF/CMC AND SREF. ONE OTHER ITEM WAS TO ADD THUNDERSTORMS BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON. GENERALLY FOLLOWED GFS MOS TEMPS EXCEPT I DID UNDERCUT THE WARMER MOS NUMBERS FOR HIGHS FRIDAY...DUE TO CLOUDS AND EARLIER START TO SHOWERS. MILDER MINS THURSDAY NIGHT SEEMED A BETTER CHOICE GIVEN INCREASING CLOUDS. .LONG TERM...(FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY)...A FRONT TRACKS THROUGH THE AREA ON FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. WILL KEEP THE HIGHEST CHANCES FOR FRIDAY NIGHT AS THE FRONT PASSES. COULD SEE THUNDERSTORM ON FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. UPPER LOW TRACKS THROUGH THE AREA ON SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. WILL KEEP THE HIGHEST POPS IN THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CWA. MAY SEE A FEW FLURRIES IN THE NORTHERN ZONES ON SUNDAY NIGHT. HIGH PRESSURE RETURNS BRINGING DRY WEATHER FOR MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... CHATTANOOGA AIRPORT, TN 51 73 53 72 54 / 80 10 50 60 80 KNOXVILLE MCGHEE TYSON AIRPORT, TN 48 69 48 69 55 / 80 10 30 60 80 OAK RIDGE, TN 47 68 48 68 52 / 70 10 30 60 80 TRI CITIES AIRPORT, TN 44 68 41 67 54 / 80 10 10 60 80 && .MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...NONE. TN...NONE. VA...NONE. && TG/GH
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 916 AM EST WED FEB 29 2012 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-011430- 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- 916 AM EST WED FEB 29 2012 /816 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE STORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS EAST TENNESSEE...EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND A SMALL PART OF SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA. HAIL UP TO QUARTER SIZE OR LARGER...DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH... AND A FEW TORNADOES ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS CONTINUED TO DEVELOP THIS MORNING ACROSS NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI AND WESTERN KENTUCKY...AHEAD OF A STRONG COLD FRONT. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE EAST INTO THE NORTHWEST SECTIONS OF THE AREA DURING THE AFTERNOON...THEN MOVE THROUGH THE REST OF THE AREA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE THREAT HAS BEEN UPGRADED FROM SLIGHT TO MODERATE...SO A GREATER COVERAGE OF SEVERE STORMS IS EXPECTED...WITH A GREATER THREAT OF TORNADOES AS WELL. GET PREPARED NOW FOR THIS SEVERE WEATHER EVENT...AND PLAN WHERE YOU WILL GO IF WARNINGS ARE ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA. LATE TONIGHT...STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO SLOWLY WEAKEN AS THE AIR MASS BECOMES MORE STABLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE AREA SATURDAY MORNING. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME WIDESPREAD ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY ON FRIDAY. ANOTHER AREA OF ORGANIZED CONVECTION WILL DEVELOP AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING COLD FRONT. THIS ACTIVITY WILL LIKELY MOVE THROUGH THE REGION FRIDAY NIGHT. THIS SECOND ROUND OF ACTIVITY ALSO POSES A THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. THE MAIN THREATS BEING DAMAGING WINDS...PLUS HAIL UP TO ONE INCH IN DIAMETER. ALSO...ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS VERY LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AND THEN AGAIN ON FRIDAY NIGHT. TG
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
530 PM EST WED FEB 29 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0506 PM HAIL SUNBRIGHT 36.24N 84.67W
02/29/2012 E0.25 INCH MORGAN TN 911 CALL CENTER
PEA SIZED HAIL...REPORTED BY DISPATCH.
&&The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 62 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:42 UTC.
5 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Highway department personnel reported thunderstorms produced golfball-size hail near Norris.
Highway department personnel reported several trees downed by thunderstorm wind near Norris.
Highway department personnel reported thunderstorms produced quarter-size hail in Dayton.
Highway department personnel reported several trees downed by thunderstorm wind in Dayton.
Law enforcement personnel reported a funnel cloud sighting 4 miles west of Greenback near Chilhowee Lake.
A NWS storm survey determined an EF0 tornado touched down in Blount County 3 miles northeast of Greenback on Maple Lane. It had a path width of about 100 yards and a path length of 3/4 of a mile. The maximum wind of 85 mph was responsible for damaging a few trees and dislodging a light awning from the front of a house.
Emergency management personnel reported several trees downed by thunderstorm wind as well as structural damage to a storage building in Greenback.
Amateur radio operators reported thunderstorms produced golfball-size hail 4 miles south of Maryville.
A trained spotter reported thunderstorms produced quarter-size hail in Townsend.
An individual from the public reported thunderstorms produced ping-pong-size hail in Wears Valley.
Law enforcement personnel reported a few trees downed by thunderstorm wind on Waldens Creek Road southwest of Pigeon Forge.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Tennessee, 2012Warnings 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: 362334, 362335, 362337, 362338, 362340, 362791, 362793, 362796, 362797, 362800, 362805.