A pre-frontal trough shifted southeast out of the Ohio Valley and moved into a moderately unstable Southern Appalachian Region during the afternoon hours generating severe convection. Severe weather mode was almost entirely straight line wind damage.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 MRX wrote it up.
A pre-frontal trough shifted southeast out of the Ohio Valley and moved into a moderately unstable Southern Appalachian Region during the afternoon hours generating severe convection. Severe weather mode was almost entirely straight line wind damage.
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 8, 1:55 PM EST, 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 255 PM EDT TUE JUL 8 2014 .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY)...FRONTAL SYSTEM STILL SAGGING SOUTHWARD TOWARD THE AREA...AND DEEPER MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY MOVING IN AS WELL. LOOKING LIKE A FAIRLY WET NEXT COUPLE OF PERIODS AS THE AXIS OF THIS SYSTEM MAKE ITS WAY INTO THE AREA. ALTHOUGH MENTIONED "WET" ABOVE...FLOODING THREAT NOT LOOKING THAT GREAT AS PROGRESSIVE INITIAL PARTS OF SYSTEM WILL SWEEP THROUGH...THEN AS FRONT SAGS INTO AREA RICHER MOISTURE WILL BE SOUTH OR EAST OF THE AREA. SO A COUPLE OF CHANCES FOR PRECIP...THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING WITH ADVANCING STRONG STORMS THAT MARCH ACROSS TO THE EAST...THEN ALSO ANOTHER CHANCE TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY AS THE MAIN AXIS OF THE SYSTEM MOVE THROUGH THE AREA FROM THE NORTH/NORTHWEST. DEEP CONVECTION STRUGGLING FINALLY GETTING STARTED. MLCAPE VALUES GETTING PRETTY HIGH...SO STILL THINK SEVERE THREAT EXISTS. ALSO WONDERING ABOUT HOW STRONG ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP CLOSER TO THE FRONT MIGHT BE IF THEY MAKE THEIR WAY CLOSER TONIGHT...THINKING THE STORMS THIS AFTERNOON ARE OUR BEST CHANCE FOR SEVERE OVERALL. FOR TEMPERATURES KEEPING PRETTY CLOSE TO GUIDANCE FOR MINS TONIGHT AND ON THE COOL SIDE OF MAXES FOR WEDNESDAY...CONSIDERING THE LIMITED SUNSHINE...ESPECIALLY SOUTH. .LONG TERM...(WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY)...MODELS CONTINUE TO BE IN FAIR AGREEMENT OVERALL WITH DECENT RUN TO RUN CONSISTENCY. HOWEVER...GIVEN UNCERTAINTIES IN MODEL HANDLING OF POSSIBLE WEAK IMPULSES IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT FORECAST CONFIDENCE IS AT BEST AVERAGE FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. THE FRONT SHOULD FINALLY EXIT THE AREA EARLY THURSDAY...BUT A WEAK IMPULSE STILL COULD HELP TO TRIGGER SOME ISOLATED TO SCATTERED CONVECTION INTO THURSDAY AFTERNOON. DRIER AIR SHOULD KEEP THINGS PRECIP FREE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT...THEN MOISTURE WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE AGAIN DURING THE WEEKEND. WILL CARRY SLIGHT CHANCE POPS SATURDAY AND CHANCE POPS SUNDAY. ANOTHER FRONTAL SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO AFFECT THE AREA EARLY IN THE WEEK...SO CHANCE POPS BOTH MONDAY AND TUESDAY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... CHATTANOOGA AIRPORT, TN 71 86 68 89 / 60 60 30 30 KNOXVILLE MCGHEE TYSON AIRPORT, TN 71 83 66 87 / 60 50 20 20 OAK RIDGE, TN 70 84 65 88 / 70 30 20 20 TRI CITIES AIRPORT, TN 68 82 61 85 / 60 30 20 20 && .MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...NONE. TN...NONE. VA...NONE. && GM/LW
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 1134 AM EDT TUE JUL 8 2014 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-091545- 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- 1134 AM EDT TUE JUL 8 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... SCATTERED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AHEAD OF A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT. STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA WEST TO EAST. DAMAGING WINDS OF 60 MPH OR GREATER AND LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 68 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:17 UTC.
12 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Several trees were reported down in the western part of the county.
One tree was reported down in Halls.
A few trees were reported down in Seymour.
Trees were reported down near Boones Creek.
A few trees were reported down in Johnson City.
Several trees were reported down across the county.
Several trees were downed and power outages were reported near Elizabethton.
Five trees were reported down in Unicoi along Unicoi Drive.
A few trees were reported down near Mountain City.
A few trees were reported down near Wears Valley Road just south of Pigeon Forge.
Trees were reported down near highway 64 two miles west of route 411.
Trees were reported down in Ducktown.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, July 2014
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: 518720, 518719, 518718, 518717, 518716, 518715, 518714, 518710, 518712, 518707, 518709, 518705.