A very unstable environment along with an approaching weak surface trough dropping through Tennessee ignited several supercell thunderstorms during the mid afternoon hours across southern middle Tennessee, which dropped south into northern and central Alabama during the late afternoon and evening hours. A couple of the supercell storms produced large hail and isolated wind damage in Lincoln and…
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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 HUN wrote it up.
A very unstable environment along with an approaching weak surface trough dropping through Tennessee ignited several supercell thunderstorms during the mid afternoon hours across southern middle Tennessee, which dropped south into northern and central Alabama during the late afternoon and evening hours. A couple of the supercell storms produced large hail and isolated wind damage in Lincoln and Moore Counties.
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 Huntsville, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 31, 12:06 PM CST, 1 hour 39 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 106 PM CDT SAT MAR 31 2012 .UPDATE... FOR 18Z AVIATION DISCUSSION AND TO HIGHLIGHT SEVERE WEATHER THREAT. && .DISCUSSION... ENVIRONMENT CONTINUES TO LOOK RIPE FOR SEVERE WEATHER THREAT THIS AFTERNOON AS AREA OBSERVATIONS SHOW A GOOD AMOUNT OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE /MID 60S DEWPOINTS/ AND STORMS ARE NOW BEGINNING TO DEVELOP IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE AND MOVE TOWARD THE AREA. EXPECT THE WARM AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON...WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS THE PRIMARY THREATS. JLL && .AVIATION... FOR 18Z TAFS... VFR CONDITIONS ARE LARGELY EXPECTED THROUGH THE EVENING...HOWEVER ANY SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM THAT DEVELOPS OVER THE TERMINAL WILL BE CAPABLE OF QUICKLY REDUCING CIGS/VIS. FOG IS AGAIN EXPECTED TONIGHT...AND ITS MAGNITUDE WILL LARGELY BE DEPENDENT ON RAINFALL THIS AFTERNOON. VFR CONDITIONS ARE THEN EXPECTED AGAIN SUNDAY MORNING. JLL && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. TN...NONE. && FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/HUNTSVILLE.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1257 PM CDT SAT MAR 31 2012 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-011000- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DEKALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 1257 PM CDT SAT MAR 31 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... A COLD FRONT WILL DRIFT SOUTH TOWARD THE TENNESSEE VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON...TRIGGERING SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA. SOME OF THESE STORMS WILL BE SEVERE...CAPABLE OF LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. THE GREATEST SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL BE ACROSS SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE AND EXTREME NORTHWEST ALABAMA BETWEEN 1 PM AND 4 PM...AND ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF NORTHERN ALABAMA BETWEEN 3 PM AND 7 PM. THUNDERSTORMS WILL RAPIDLY DIMINISH IN COVERAGE AND STRENGTH THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... ISOLATED TO WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ON SUNDAY. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY PRODUCE SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS. SEVERAL SYSTEMS MOVING ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST WILL INCREASE THUNDERSTORM CHANCES AGAIN EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE ON TUESDAY. LARGE HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS ASSOCIATED WITH THE STRONGER STORMS. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS REQUESTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. REPORTS OF HAIL AND WINDS WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. CCC/JLL
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
204 PM CDT SAT MAR 31 2012
TNZ076-096-097-311930-
FRANKLIN-LINCOLN-MOORE-
204 PM CDT SAT MAR 31 2012
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR FRANKLIN...LINCOLN AND MOORE
COUNTIES UNTIL 230 PM CDT...
AT 201 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING
A BROKEN LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN MAURY...MARSHALL...AND
BEDFORD COUNTIES IN TENNESSEE. THESE STORMS ARE TRACKING SOUTHEAST
AT 20 MPH.
THESE STORMS ARE PRODUCING HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF GOLF BALLS.
PEOPLE IN LINCOLN...MOORE AND NORTHWESTERN FRANKLIN COUNTIES...
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF PETERSBURG...CHESTNUT RIDGE...MCBURG...
BOONSHILL...BELLEVILLE...HOWELL...DELLROSE...BOONEVILLE...MIMOSA AND
HARMS...SHOULD MONITOR THE WEATHER SITUATION CLOSELY. LISTEN FOR
POSSIBLE WARNINGS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION SHOULD
SEVERE WEATHER THREATEN.
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM CDT
SATURDAY EVENING FOR NORTHERN ALABAMA AND CENTRAL TENNESSEE.
STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL RADIO...OR YOUR LOCAL
TELEVISION STATIONS FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS
CONCERNING THIS WEATHER SITUATION.
&&
LAT...LON 3535 8624 3534 8620 3537 8615 3534 8602
3499 8674 3505 8684 3526 8683 3526 8675
3531 8668 3533 8661 3537 8659 3536 8649
3533 8645 3533 8642 3535 8641 3542 8626
TIME...MOT...LOC 1901Z 313DEG 19KT 3555 8619 3521 8690The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 60 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:44 UTC.
4 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Quarter sized hail was reported in the eastern portion of the Chestnut Ridge community.
Quarter sized hail was reported.
Quarter sized hail was reported.
Trees and power lines were knocked down on Highway 129 near the Bedford County line. Time estimated by radar.
Quarter sized hail was reported on Highway 50 near the Lincoln County line. Time estimated by radar.
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, March 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: 371140, 371141, 371142, 371144, 371143.