Tennessee, 2014

Heavy Snow in Tennessee, March 29 to 30, 2014

March 29 to 30, 2014 · NWS MRX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A strong low pressure system moved from the mid Mississippi Valley to the middle Atlantic |Coast pulling chilly, moisture laden air across the Southern Appalachian mountains. The orographic lift generated by the strong northwesterly flow behind the low resulted in an accumulation of several inches of snow in the higher terrain along the Tennessee and North Carolina border.

Where it happened

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.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS MRX wrote it up.

A strong low pressure system moved from the mid Mississippi Valley to the middle Atlantic |Coast pulling chilly, moisture laden air across the Southern Appalachian mountains. The orographic lift generated by the strong northwesterly flow behind the low resulted in an accumulation of several inches of snow in the higher terrain along the Tennessee and North Carolina border.

What forecasters said that day

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 Mar 29, 6:34 PM EST, 3 hours 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 29, 6:34 PM EST, 3 hours 26 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 29, 2:25 PM EST, 7 hours 35 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Unicoi

When
March 29, 10:00 PM EST to March 30, 3:06 AM EST
Where
Unicoi forecast zone
Reported by
911 Call Center
Coordinates
36.111, -82.432 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Three inches of snow was reported at Sam's Gap.

Heavy Snow, Sevier/Smoky Mountains

When
March 29, 10:10 PM EST to March 30, 6:30 AM EST
Where
Sevier/Smoky Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
Park/Forest Service
Coordinates
35.785, -83.524 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Seven inches of snow was measured approximately six miles south southeast of Gatlinburg along highway 441 at Trout Branch.

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Tennessee in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, March 2014

Sources

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 504561, 504562.