A front tracked through the area triggering isolated thunderstorms over east Tennessee during the overnight hours. With the aid of a strong low-level wind field a few of the storms produced a damaging wind downing some trees and powerlines.
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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.
A front tracked through the area triggering isolated thunderstorms over east Tennessee during the overnight hours. With the aid of a strong low-level wind field a few of the storms produced a damaging wind downing some trees and powerlines.
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 Dec 22, 12:31 AM EST, 1 hour 9 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
1231 AM EST SUN DEC 22 2013
.AVIATION...
HAVE A MUCH BETTER HANDLE ON THE SQUALL LINE TIMING THROUGH EACH OF
THE TAF SITES. GENERALLY BETWEEN 07Z AND 12Z THE LINE WILL MOVE
THROUGH SOUTHERN AREAS FIRST AND NORTHERN AREAS LAST. MODELS
INDICATE ADDITIONAL SHOWERS DEVELOPING LATER TODAY IN THE WAKE OF
THE SQUALL LINE. BELIEVE THAT BY MID TO LATE AFTERNOON MOST AREAS
WILL BEGIN TO DRY OUT. FOG MAY DEVELOP AT KTRI SHORTLY AFTER SUNSET
ON SUNDAY BUT CONFIDENCE IS LOW AT THIS TIME.
&&
.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM EST THIS MORNING FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: CHEROKEE...CLAY.
TN...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM EST THIS MORNING FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS...COCKE SMOKY MOUNTAINS...
JOHNSON...SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS...SOUTHEAST CARTER...
SOUTHEAST GREENE...SOUTHEAST MONROE...UNICOI.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM EST /6 AM CST/ THIS MORNING FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES: BLEDSOE...CAMPBELL...CLAIBORNE...MARION...
MORGAN...SCOTT TN...SEQUATCHIE.
VA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM EST THIS MORNING FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: LEE...RUSSELL...WASHINGTON...WISE.
&&
ACHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 1245 AM EST SUN DEC 22 2013 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-230545- 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- 1245 AM EST SUN DEC 22 2013 /1145 PM CST SAT DEC 21 2013/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... STRONG TO POSSIBLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE AREA OVERNIGHT. SOME OF THE STORMS COULD PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS...ALONG WITH SOME LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF THE AREA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS AND THE POSSIBILITY OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LINGER OVER EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA INTO EARLY SUNDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED OVERNIGHT.
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:37 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Law enforcement personnel reported a couple of trees downed by thunderstorm wind in Huntsville.
Law enforcement personnel reported a couple of trees downed by thunderstorm wind in Oneida.
Emergency manager personnel reported a few trees and powerlines downed by thunderstorm wind 11 miles northwest of Wartburg in Deer Lodge.
Emergency manager personnel reported several trees and powerlines downed by thunderstorm wind 3 miles westnorthwest of Wartburg in Lancing.
Law enforcement personnel reported a couple of trees downed by thunderstorm wind in Chattanooga.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, December 2013
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: 482655, 482661, 482672, 482675, 482676.