With a front in the vicinity, a band of scattered thunderstorms moved through the southern half of the forecast area. Radar detected locally heavy rain over Hamilton Co as early as 8:00 pm EST.
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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 MRX wrote it up.
With a front in the vicinity, a band of scattered thunderstorms moved through the southern half of the forecast area. Radar detected locally heavy rain over Hamilton Co as early as 8:00 pm EST.
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 Jul 20, 8:08 PM EST, 2 hours 22 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 908 PM EDT FRI JUL 20 2012 .DISCUSSION...A COUPLE BANDS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA ONE IN THE NORTH AND ONE ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST HALF BUT COVERAGE STILL SCATTERED. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS FALLING ACROSS LOUDON COUNTY AND HAMILTON COUNTY TN AT THIS TIME. STORMS ARE MOVING GENERALLY MOVING EAST OR SOUTHEAST AT 10 TO 15 MPH. A FEW STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE WITH DAMAGING WIND AND QUARTER SIZED HAIL NEXT HOUR OR TWO. EXPECT COVERAGE TO STAY BELOW LIKELY NEXT FEW HOURS THAN GRADUALLY DECREASE AS ATMOSPHERE DESTABILIZES TO 20 TO 30 PERCENT COVERAGE. ADJUSTED TEMPERATURES AND DEW POINTS TO CURRENT TRENDS AND DROPPED POPS TO CHANCE...WITH BEST COVERAGE OVER THE SOUTHEAST SECTIONS INTO THE LATE NIGHT HOURS AND ONLY SLIGHT COVERAGE AS ACTIVITY OVER THE NORTHERN PLATEAU AND SW VA MOVES SE IN A FEW HOURS. UPDATE ALREADY SENT. && .MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...NONE. TN...NONE. VA...NONE. && TD
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 124 PM EDT FRI JUL 20 2012 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-211730- 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- 124 PM EDT FRI JUL 20 2012 /1224 PM CDT FRI JUL 20 2012/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION THIS EVENING...TRIGGERING SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. ISOLATED STORMS COULD BECOME STRONG TO MARGINALLY SEVERE. THE STRONGEST STORMS MIGHT PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS UP TO 50 MPH...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IN EXCESS OF 1 INCH PER HOUR. BE ALERT FOR FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES IN AND NEAR ANY THUNDERSTORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE EACH DAY THROUGH NEXT WEEK...ESPECIALLY DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. A FEW STORMS EACH DAY COULD BECOME STRONG TO SEVERE... BRINGING THE POSSIBILITY OF STRONG DAMAGING WINDS...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS UNLIKELY AT THIS TIME. TG/SR
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 901 PM EDT FRI JUL 20 2012 TNZ068-086-087-210145- LOUDON TN-NORTHWEST MONROE TN-SOUTHEAST MONROE TN- 901 PM EDT FRI JUL 20 2012 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR MONROE AND LOUDON COUNTIES UNTIL 945 PM EDT... AT 900 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR MADISONVILLE...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 10 MPH. HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF DIMES OR PENNIES AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...MADISONVILLE...MOUNT VERNON...TELLICO PLAINS AND TARIFFVILLE. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS...IN EXCESS OF ONE INCH PER HOUR...MAY OCCUR WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR PONDING OF WATER ON ROADWAYS...AND POSSIBLE MINOR FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS. DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH. DGS
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 1108 PM EDT FRI JUL 20 2012 TNZ098-210400- MARION TN- 1008 PM CDT FRI JUL 20 2012 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR MARION COUNTY UNTIL 1100 PM CDT... AT 1006 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR TRACY CITY...OR 14 MILES NORTHWEST OF JASPER...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...JASPER...WHITWELL... GRIFFITH CREEK...MARTIN SPRINGS...POWELLS CROSSROADS AND HALETOWN (GUILD). IN ADDITION TO SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM. MOVE INDOORS IMMEDIATELY! LIGHTNING IS ONE OF NATURES PRIMARY KILLERS ASSOCIATED WITH THUNDERSTORMS. REMEMBER...IF YOU CAN HEAR THUNDER...YOU ARE CLOSE ENOUGH TO BE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. DGS
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 76 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:28 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Law enforcement reported many roads under water, including at the intersection of I 24 and I 75.
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, July 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: 385244.