Hail, Sumner
- When
- January 21, 12:18 AM CST
- Where
- Sumner County, 1.38 mi S of Gallatin
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 36.380, -86.450
Hail and Damaging Wind in Tennessee, January 21, 2012
As a line of showers and thunderstorms moved across Middle Tennessee during the morning hours on Saturday, January 21st, a few thunderstorms reached severe thresholds, resulting in large hail, thunderstorm wind damage, and lightning damage events occurring across four different counties in the mid state.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $62,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 5
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS OHX wrote it up.
As a line of showers and thunderstorms moved across Middle Tennessee during the morning hours on Saturday, January 21st, a few thunderstorms reached severe thresholds, resulting in large hail, thunderstorm wind damage, and lightning damage events occurring across four different counties in the mid state.
What forecasters said that day
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 Jan 20, 11:35 PM CST, 43 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 20, 11:35 PM CST, 43 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 1135 PM CST FRI JAN 20 2012 .AVIATION... A LINE OF TSRA WILL IMPACT KBNA AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 06Z TAF PERIOD. LOW CEILINGS AND TSRA EXPECTED INTERMITTENTLY BETWEEN 06Z AND 09Z. LIFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED DUE TO BR...LOW CEILINGS AND ALSO PASSING TSRA AT KCSV. CONDITIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO IMPROVE UNTIL AFTER 13Z. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 814 PM CST FRI JAN 20 2012/ UPDATE...AT 01Z QUASI-STATIONARY FRONT EXTENDED FROM JUST NORTH OF MEMPHIS, TO JUST NORTH OF MKL AND BNA, TO NEAR LAFAYETTE (IN MACON COUNTY). SURFACE TEMP JUMPED 8 DEGS AT BNA AS FRONT LIFTED NORTH, BETWEEN 01Z AND 02Z. THIS FRONT MAY STILL WAVER JUST A BIT FURTHER NORTH OVERNIGHT. HOWEVER, THE MAIN FEATURE WILL BE A SHORTWAVE DROPPING INTO THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY LATER TONIGHT, INCREASING THE COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS, PRODUCING THE POSSIBILITY FOR ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS, AND KICKING THE FRONT EAST OF NASHVILLE AGAIN SHORTLY AFTER 12Z. MUCH OF THE MID STATE REMAINS IN A SLIGHT RISK AREA FOR SEVERE STORMS OVERNIGHT, WITH THE BEST CHANCE EXPECTED TO BE OVER SOUTHERN AND EASTERN AREAS, IMMEDIATELY ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT AND THE INVOF STRONGEST 850MB JET (OF 40-45KTS). AREA RADARS HAVE SHOWN A GENERAL INCREASE IN THE COVERAGE OF CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY OVER THE LAST SEVERAL HOURS, ESPECIALLY OVER NORTHERN ALABAMA AND WEST-CENTRAL MIDDLE TENNESSEE, RIGHT ALONG THE FRONT ITSELF. WILL UPDATE ZFP MAINLY TO FOCUS ON MILD OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES, AND TO KEEP LIKELIHOOD FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS RUNNING. && .OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 12
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 20, 3:14 PM CST, 9 hours 4 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 314 PM CST FRI JAN 20 2012 TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-212115- 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- 314 PM CST FRI JAN 20 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR MUCH OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE MAINLY TONIGHT. STRONG TO DAMAGING STRAIGHT-LINE WIND IS THE MAIN THREAT BUT ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED SUNDAY NIGHT. A FEW STORMS COULD BE SEVERE DURING THIS PERIOD. DAMAGING WINDS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE THE PRIMARY THREATS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... EVEN THOUGH ANY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE BRIEF AND ISOLATED, SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CLOSELY MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO CALL IN ANYTHING REACHING REPORTING CRITERIA. SPOTTER THUNDERSTORM REPORTING CRITERIA... TORNADO FUNNEL CLOUD FLOODING HAIL >= 1/2 INCH WINDS > 50 MPH (MEASURED) STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TREES OR POWER LINES DOWN JLM
The radar
The Nashville radar (KOHX), 18 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:16 UTC.
Event by event
3 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm Wind, Macon
- When
- January 21, 12:45 AM CST
- Where
- Macon County, 2.2 mi NE of Williams
- Measured
- 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- Public
- Coordinates
- 36.569, -86.019
An area of metal roofing was partially peeled back on a home on Williams Road.
Lightning, Rutherford
- When
- January 21, 2:19 AM CST
- Where
- Rutherford County, 1.97 mi NW of Murfreesboro Arpt
- Property damage
- $52,000
- Reported by
- Fire Department/Rescue
- Coordinates
- 35.902, -86.402
A two story house at 2925 Cherry Blossom Lane was struck on the second floor by lightning that resulted in a fire that caused considerable damage to the home.
Hail, Giles
- When
- January 21, 4:24 AM CST
- Where
- Giles County, 1.13 mi E of Kedron
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 35.050, -87.030
Hail, Sumner
- When
- January 21, 9:38 AM CST
- Where
- Sumner County, 1.38 mi S of Gallatin
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 36.380, -86.450
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, January 21, 2012
- Winter Weather in Delaware, January 21, 2012
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Georgia, January 21, 2012
- High Wind in California, January 21 to 23, 2012
- Winter Storm and Flooding in Utah, January 21 to 22, 2012
- Dust Storm and Heavy Snow in California, January 21, 2012
- Flash Flood and Hail in Nevada, January 21, 2012
- Flooding in Idaho, January 21, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, January 21, 2012
- Winter Weather in New Jersey, January 21, 2012
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Massachusetts, January 21, 2012
- Dust Storm and High Wind in Arizona, January 21, 2012
More
Every storm in Tennessee in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, January 2012
Sources
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: 354634, 355319, 356618, 354635, 354636.