Moisture overrunning a slow-moving cold front brought freezing rain to much of northwest Middle Tennessee during the late afternoon and evening hours on December 6. Some ice accumulations and icy roadways were reported.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 OHX wrote it up.
Moisture overrunning a slow-moving cold front brought freezing rain to much of northwest Middle Tennessee during the late afternoon and evening hours on December 6. Some ice accumulations and icy roadways were reported.
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 Dec 6, 3:34 PM CST, 26 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 334 PM CST FRI DEC 6 2013 .SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY) AT 3 PM CST...FREEZING RAIN CONTINUED TO FALL OVER OUR FAR NORTHWEST AREAS. RADAR AND SHORT RANGE MODELS INDICATE 3 OR 4 MORE HOURS OF LIGHT TO MODERATE FREEZING RAIN...MIXED WITH SLEET...WITH RATES AROUND 0.10 INCH/HR. THIS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE THE ICE LOAD ON TREES AND POWER LINES...SO SOME POWER OUTAGES SHOULD BE EXPECTED WITH ICE TOTALS AROUND UP TO ONE HALF INCH IN THE WARNING AREA. ALSO...ROAD CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TO DETERIORATE WITH FALLING TEMPERATURES THIS EVENING. FOR THE ADVISORY AREA...INCLUDING NASHVILLE METRO...TEMPERATURES ARE MOSTLY IN THE 33-35 RANGE AT 21Z...BUT SOME ICE WAS COLLECTING ON TREES AND LINES AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS ALONG AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 65. THE ADVISORY IS SET TO BEGIN AT 4 PM...WHICH SHOULD LINE UP WITH THE START OF TRAVEL IMPACTS...BEGINNING WITH ICE ON BRIDGES FROM PORTLAND DOWN TO JOELTON...FAIRVIEW AND HOHENWALD. THEN CONDITIONS WILL WORSEN INTO THE EVENING...WITH SLICK CONDITIONS SPREADING SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE ADVISORY AREA THROUGH THE EVENING RUSH HOUR. BY 10 PM THIS EVENING...THE DYNAMIC SUPPORT FOR PRECIPITATION WILL BE WEAKENING CONSIDERABLY...AND THE DEEP MOISTURE WILL BE MOVING EASTWARD. PRECIPITATION WILL BE TAPERING OFF TO LIGHT SLEET...FLURRIES AND FREEZING DRIZZLE. EVEN FOR LOCATIONS THAT ARE NOT IN WARNINGS OR ADVISORIES...LEFTOVER MOISTURE WITH FALLING TEMPS WILL LIKELY CAUSE SOME SLICK SPOTS TO DEVELOP OVERNIGHT. REGARDING RAINFALL...STILL SOME HEAVY DOWNPOURS ON THE WAY WITH A FEW RUMBLES OF THUNDER. A FEW SMALL STREAMS MAY RISE QUICKLY...BUT NO MAJOR FLOOD PROBLEMS ARE EXPECTED. THE COVERAGE AND INTENSITY OF ANY TSRA WILL DROP OFF QUICKLY AFTER 00Z. DRY CONDITONS ARE EXPECTED SATURDAY...BUT MAINLY CLOUDY AND COLD. HIGHS WILL ONLY REACH THE LOW TO MID 30S AND NORTH WINDS 10-20 MPH WILL KEEP WIND CHILLS IN THE 20S. 13 && .LONG TERM...(SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY) OVERALL...SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE SUNDAY/MONDAY WITH LARGE TROUGH OVER THE WESTERN U.S. AND H5 RIDGE OVER THE ATLANTIC. THE TROF WEAKENS AND PASSES THROUGH TN ON TUESDAY LEAVING A BRIEF PERIOD OF ZONAL FLOW ON WEDNESDAY. SHOULD SEE A WEAK H5 RIDGE AXIS LATE NEXT WEEK...AND MAYBE THE FIRST SIGNS OF YET ANOTHER LARGE STORM SYSTEM APPROACHING BY NEXT WEEKEND. THE OVERALL SCENARIO ABOVE SETS US UP FOR TWO MORE PRECIP SITUATIONS. THE FIRST SHOULD DEVELOP LATE SATURDAY NIGHT AS AN INVERTED TROUGH DEVELOPS ACROSS THE REGION. TEMPS WILL BE COLD ENOUGH FOR A WINTERY MIX OR MAINLY FREEZING RAIN SATURDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY SUNDAY. AMOUNTS SHOULD BE LIGHT...BELOW 1/4 INCH...BUT FEEL IMPACTS CAN BEST BE HANDLED WITH POSSIBLE FUTURE ADVISORY RATHER THAN A WATCH AT THIS TIME. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT SLIGHTLY WARMER AIR WILL MOVE IN...CHANGING PRECIP TO RAIN BY MID MORNING ON SUNDAY. ADDITIONAL RAINS WILL OCCUR ALL SECTIONS DURING THE DAY SUNDAY...WITH POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT RAINS MAINLY EASTERN MIDDLE TN. THE PRECIP WILL END FROM WEST TO EAST VERY LATE SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY. THE OTHER PRECIP SITUATION IS THE POSSIBILITY OF ADDITIONAL WINTER WEATHER...MAINLY SNOW...MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY. MODELS GENERALLY AGREE ON MOVING THE H5 TROF AXIS TOWARD TN DURING THIS TIME. IN RESPONSE...A NEW AREA OF LIGHT SNOW MAY DEVELOP AND SPREAD INTO MIDDLE TN MONDAY NIGHT AND EARLY TUESDAY. BEST CHANCES SHOULD BE OVER SOUTHERN AND EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE MID STATE BUT WILL INCLUDE AT LEAST A SLIGHT MENTION FOR ALL AREAS. THE REST OF THE WEEK SHOULD BE DRY BUT ANOTHER SYSTEM MAY BE ON THE HORIZON BY NEXT WEEKEND. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... NASHVILLE 26 35 30 42 / 80 05 80 90 CLARKSVILLE 19 30 26 37 / 60 0 60 90 CROSSVILLE 29 36 33 45 / 100 10 80 90 COLUMBIA 27 36 31 43 / 80 05 80 90 LAWRENCEBURG 27 37 31 43 / 80 10 80 90 WAVERLY 21 32 26 38 / 60 0 70 90 && .OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR TNZ007>010-026>031-056>060-062-093-094. ICE STORM WARNING UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR TNZ005-006- 022>025. && 49
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 245 PM CST FRI DEC 6 2013 TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-071200- 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- 245 PM CST FRI DEC 6 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. AN ICE STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE EXTREME NORTHWEST COUNTIES OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE THROUGH MIDNIGHT. ONE QUARTER TO ONE HALF INCH OF ICE ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED. HAZARDS INCLUDE DANGEROUS TRAVEL...WITH ICY ROADS...DOWNED TREES AND POWER LINES AND POWER OUTAGES. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE NASHVILLE METRO AREA...SOUTHWEST THROUGH WAYNE AND LAWRENCE COUNTIES. THESE AREAS WILL HAVE ICE ACCUMULATIONS LESS THAN ONE TENTH OF AN INCH...WITH HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS THIS EVENING. SOME HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE INTO THIS EVENING. WIDESPREAD FLOODING IS NOT EXPECTED...BUT SOME STREAMS MAY RISE QUICKLY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. ANOTHER ROUND OF WINTER WEATHER WILL DEVELOP SATURDAY NIGHT ACROSS MUCH OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE. FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET WILL CAUSE MORE ICE ACCUMULATIONS. CONDITIONS WILL WARM UP THOUGH...AND THE WINTRY PRECIPITATION WILL GRADUALLY CHANGE OVER TO RAIN ON SUNDAY. AS MODERATE RAINFALL CONTINUES THROUGH THE WEEKEND...SOME LOCALIZED FLOODING MAY BECOME AN ISSUE. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES WILL BE COMMON BY SUNDAY. WHILE MOST OF THIS WILL BE SPREAD OUT ENOUGH TO NEGATE WIDESPREAD FLOODING ISSUES...AREA RIVERS AND CREEKS WILL BE ON THE RISE. BY SUNDAY EVENING AND MONDAY...SOME OF THESE MAY BECOME A PROBLEM. A THIRD ROUND OF WINTER WEATHER WILL BE POSSIBLE MONDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT INCLUDING SOME POSSIBLE ICE AND MINOR SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS AND LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY ICE...SNOW OR HEAVY RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE. 13
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
248 PM CST FRI DEC 06 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0239 PM ICE STORM DICKSON 36.08N 87.38W
12/06/2013 DICKSON TN EMERGENCY MNGR
DICKSON COUNTY EOC MEASURED 0.25 INCHES OF ICE
ACCUMULATION ON SITE
&&
EVENT NUMBER OHX1300746
SHAMBURGERThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.
A trained spotter in Dickson reported 0.3 of ice accumulation on elevated surfaces.
Wilma Rudolph Boulevard at Purple Heart Parkway in Clarksville was closed due to ice accumulation on the roadway. Ice accumulations up to 0.25 on elevated surfaces were estimated across the county.
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: 490742, 490743.