A deep low pressure system moved across the Great Lakes while dragging a strong cold front into the Southern Appalachians. Strong winds aloft were brought down to the surface as the front moved through the region generating only isolated reports of wind damage due to the stability of the near surface air mass.
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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 deep low pressure system moved across the Great Lakes while dragging a strong cold front into the Southern Appalachians. Strong winds aloft were brought down to the surface as the front moved through the region generating only isolated reports of wind damage due to the stability of the near surface air mass.
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 Nov 17, 8:55 PM EST, 3 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
855 PM EST SUN NOV 17 2013
.DISCUSSION...
CURRENT SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS A COLD FRONT STRETCHING GENERALLY
ALONG A LINE FROM NEAR CINCINNATI TO NEAR NASHVILLE AND MEMPHIS. AN
UNSEASONABLY WARM AIR MASS WAS LINGERING OVER THE FORECAST AREA...
WITH DEWPOINTS CURRENTLY IN THE UPPER 50S TO MID 60S. CURRENT LAPS
DATA AND LATEST RUC MODEL RUN INDICATES A STABLE AIR MASS OVER THE
FORECAST AREA...SO EXPECT THE CONVECTIVE LINE ALONG THE COLD FRONT
TO WEAKEN AS IT MOVES EAST THIS EVENING. HOWEVER...A STRONG 850 MB
JET (WITH WINDS AROUND 60 KT) WAS STILL LOCATED OVER EASTERN KY AND
WESTERN WV...WITH THE TAIL END OF THIS LOW-LEVEL JET PROGGED TO
SWING OVER SOUTHWEST VA AND NORTHEAST TN THIS EVENING. THUS...IT
APPEARS THAT A FEW STORMS WITH DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS
EVENING.
OVERALL...FORECAST FOR TONIGHT APPEARS TO BE ON TRACK...BUT HAVE
ALREADY UPDATED THIS EVENING TO MENTION THE SEVERE TSTORM WATCH
UNTIL 1 AM EST.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
CHATTANOOGA AIRPORT, TN 52 65 37 56 35 / 90 10 0 0 0
KNOXVILLE AIRPORT, TN 48 63 34 52 33 / 90 10 0 0 0
OAK RIDGE, TN 47 62 34 52 33 / 90 10 0 0 0
TRI CITIES AIRPORT, TN 46 60 31 49 28 / 90 10 0 0 0
&&
.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...NONE.
TN...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM EST /3 AM CST/ MONDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: BLEDSOE...BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS...COCKE SMOKY
MOUNTAINS...JOHNSON...MARION...MORGAN...SCOTT TN...
SEQUATCHIE...SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS...SOUTHEAST CARTER...
SOUTHEAST GREENE...SOUTHEAST MONROE...UNICOI.
VA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM EST MONDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
LEE...RUSSELL...SCOTT...WASHINGTON...WISE.
&&
DMGHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 331 PM EST SUN NOV 17 2013 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-182045- 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- 331 PM EST SUN NOV 17 2013 /231 PM CST SUN NOV 17 2013/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT...AS A COLD FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE REGION. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGING WINDS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. IN ADDITION...AN ISOLATED TORNADO OR TWO WILL BE POSSIBLE. A WIND ADVISORY IS ALSO IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM TO 4 AM EST DUE TO THE STRONG GRADIENT WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM AND THE APPROACHING COLD FRONT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 952 PM EST SUN NOV 17 2013 TNZ012>014-035-180330- CAMPBELL TN-CLAIBORNE TN-MORGAN TN-SCOTT TN- 952 PM EST SUN NOV 17 2013 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR MORGAN...EXTREME WESTERN CLAIBORNE...CAMPBELL AND SCOTT COUNTIES UNTIL 1030 PM EST... AT 945 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 6 MILES EAST OF JAMESTOWN TO 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MONTEREY...AND MOVING EAST AROUND 40 MPH. WIND GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS INCLUDE...ONEIDA... WARTBURG...LA FOLLETTE...HUNTSVILLE...JACKSBORO...BIG SOUTH FORK NATIONAL REFUGE...RUGBY...WINFIELD...ELGIN...DEERLODGE...HIGH POINT...SUNBRIGHT...KETCHEN...SLICK ROCK...ELK VALLEY...NORMA...ROYAL BLUE...SMOKEY JUNCTION...CARYVILLE AND FINCASTLE. IN ADDITION TO SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS...OCCASIONAL 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.
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 77 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:04 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
An awning was ripped off a building due to the strong wind gust. Also, windows were broken and two trees were reported down along Manufacturers road.
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, November 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: 479458.