Convective training occurred across southern Hamilton and Marion counties, resulting in rapid accumulation of heavy rainfall.
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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.
Convective training occurred across southern Hamilton and Marion counties, resulting in rapid accumulation of heavy rainfall.
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 Apr 16, 12:27 PM EST, 23 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 127 PM EDT THU APR 16 2015 .AVIATION...WILL REMAIN IN A RATHER UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD. A COUPLE OF WEAK IMPULSES MOVING THROUGH THE REGION COMBINED WITH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND WEAK INSTABILITY WILL ALLOW BANDS OF SHOWERS AND EVEN A STRAY THUNDERSTORM TO DEVELOP OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. THIS WILL RESULT IN WIDESPREAD MID LEVEL CLOUDS WITH SOME LOW CLOUDS MOVING THROUGH. VFR CONDITIONS WILL DOMINATE...BUT OCCASIONAL MVFR TO IFR CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED...ESPECIALLY WHEN SHOWERS MOVE THROUGH AND DURING THE LATE NIGHT. && .MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...NONE. TN...NONE. VA...NONE. && MJB
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 456 AM EDT THU APR 16 2015 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-170900- 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- 456 AM EDT THU APR 16 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... NO HAZARDOUS IS WEATHER EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... THE COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO DECREASE ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...THEN INCREASE AGAIN FROM LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY. THE CHANCE OF SEVERE STORMS REMAINS LOW... BUT ISOLATED STRONG STORMS ARE POSSIBLE ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY. GUSTY WINDS UP TO 45 MPH...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS UP TO 1 INCH COULD OCCUR WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. ANOTHER 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAINFALL...LOCALLY HEAVIER...COULD OCCUR OVER THE WEEKEND. NO SIGNIFICANT FLOODING IS EXPECTED...BUT MINOR FLOODING OF LOW LYING FLOOD PRONE AREAS IS POSSIBLE ON SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. MOTORISTS WILL NEED TO WATCH FOR PONDING OF WATER ON ROADWAYS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... LOCALIZED SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUESTED FOR FLOODING REPORTS THIS WEEKEND. AMP/TG
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
953 AM EDT THU APR 16 2015
TNZ098-099-161430-
MARION-HAMILTON-
953 AM EDT THU APR 16 2015
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT MARION...HAMILTON...
AT 953 AM EDT /853 AM CDT/...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS 7 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF SIGNAL MOUNTAIN...OR 9 MILES EAST OF JASPER...MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.
WINDS IN EXCESS OF 30 MPH AND PEA SIZE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS
STORM.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
CHATTANOOGA...JASPER...SIGNAL MOUNTAIN...SOUTH PITTSBURG...WALDEN...
KIMBALL...RIDGESIDE...FAIRMOUNT...RED BANK...POWELLS CROSSROADS AND
HALETOWN (GUILD).
FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM.
LIGHTNING CAN STRIKE 15 MILES AWAY FROM A THUNDERSTORM. SEEK A SAFE
SHELTER INSIDE A BUILDING OR VEHICLE.
LAT...LON 3498 8569 3504 8574 3523 8541 3520 8539
3515 8539 3520 8534 3502 8519 3498 8528
TIME...MOT...LOC 1353Z 240DEG 26KT 3506 8545
SRSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
113 PM EDT THU APR 16 2015
TNZ099-161745-
HAMILTON-
113 PM EDT THU APR 16 2015
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT HAMILTON...
AT 112 PM EDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS OVER RIDGESIDE...OR NEAR
CHATTANOOGA...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.
WINDS IN EXCESS OF 30 MPH AND PEA SIZE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS
STORM.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
CHATTANOOGA...SIGNAL MOUNTAIN...RIDGESIDE...HARRISON...RED BANK...
COLLEGEDALE...OOLTEWAH AND EAST BRAINERD.
TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IS ALSO OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM...AND MAY CAUSE
LOCALIZED FLOODING. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE THROUGH FLOODED
ROADWAYS.
LAT...LON 3507 8537 3509 8536 3509 8537 3512 8537
3512 8502 3499 8501 3498 8520 3499 8536
TIME...MOT...LOC 1712Z 270DEG 17KT 3502 8527
SRThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Water covered roadways reported in the East Brainerd area.
Interstate 24 exit 174 ramp was closed due to high water. Water reached the windows of vehicles.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, April 2015
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: 572879, 572880.